More biodiesel kiosks to be rolled out

The Shanghai municipal government is planning to increase the number of biodiesel fueling stations in the city from the current 21 to 200 by the end of this year, said Xu Kunlin, vice-mayor of Shanghai, during a news conference on Feb 9.

Achieving this goal, said Xu, would mean that all of the gutter oil produced in Shanghai — it is estimated to be more than 30,000 tons every year — would be used o create biodiesel, hence greatly reducing the risk of them entering the food industry.

“The new biodiesel has received positive responses from drivers who said they have not found any difference in their vehicle’s performance while driving. The pilot test was a success,” he said.

Xu had previously mentioned in November that Shanghai would also be running pilot tests involving the use of the biodiesel in ships.

According to Shen Weimin, deputy head of Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, there are more than 2,000 trucks and pickups running on this biodiesel every day. The fuel has a B5 grading, meaning that recycled waste oil makes up 5 percent of its content,

Shen added that the bureau carried out a spot check on the biodiesel products sold at nine gas stations across the municipality last month. All of them met the country’s compulsory standards.

“The B5 biodiesel is a very good product created using innovative technology that aims to achieve a comprehensive utilization of resources through recycling,” Shen said.

The Shanghai government has been promoting the use of biodiesel as an alternative for fuel for several years. The pilot test first began with bus No 70 in 2013. By September, 104 buses and 32 sanitation trucks were using the biodiesel.

Lou Diming, a professor from the School of Automotive Studies of Tongji University who led the pilot test project, told Jiefang Daily that there have not been any reports by drivers of the biodiesel negatively affecting key vehicle components such as the piston, valve, and the fuel injector.

The current price for the biodiesel is 5.72 yuan ($0.9) per liter, 0.3 yuan cheaper than regular diesel.