Fuel efficiency is increasingly becoming a priority in the automotive and trucking industries. With it comes new regulations for fuel economy. With this in mind, the Delaware Department of Transportation asked Tanks Direct to help design and build a complete turnkey solution for its fueling station in New Castle County, De. Working together with affiliate Shelters Direct, which provided a 40′ x 70′ pre-engineered steel canopy, Tanks Direct provided a 6,000-gallon double-wall gasoline tank as well as a 12,000-gallon double-wall UL 142 soy biodiesel tank. Tanks Direct also received a hand from Pasadena-based Tetra Tech, which engineered the design of this project.

Soy biodiesel, also known simply as biodiesel, is an alternative fuel made partially from vegetable oils such as soybean oil. This oil is mixed with methanol and sodium hydroxide. This mixture produces glycerine, which is used to make soap and other products, as well as methyl esters, also known as biodiesel.

There are many advantages to biodiesel, one of the most notable being that it burns cleaner than traditional petroleum-based fuel, as it releases no sulfur oxides and sulfates, which are found in acid rain. It’s non-toxic and biodegradable in its pure form, but can also be blended with regular diesel in any ratio. Even blended fuels provide benefits to diesel engines, a significant one being the lubricating qualities of biodiesel, which enable the engine to run cleaner and more efficiently for a longer time. Biodiesel can be used in all diesel engines without the need for retrofitting.

Sources:
http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/soybean/uses_biodiesel.html
https://www.tanksdirect.com/project/fueling-station-delaware-department-of-transportation/