How Is Bioheat® Fuel Made?

Heating Oil Combined with Renewable Biodiesel

Bioheat® fuel, a blend of ultra-low sulfur heating oil with renewable biodiesel, already supports tens of thousands of U.S. jobs while generating billions of dollars in annual income, which gets circulated throughout the American economy. And that’s only the beginning since the use of Bioheat fuel is only expected to grow by leaps and bounds in the years ahead.

That’s the big picture, but many exciting developments are going on right here in the Badger State. As one example, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has partnered with biogas producer Agra Energy to build a first-of-its-kind commercial facility that turns dairy farm waste into renewable biofuel.

The facility, located at Dairyland Farm in New Franken, uses advanced technology to convert biogas waste into an estimated 750,000 gallons of renewable diesel and jet fuel annually.

Wisconsin is the ideal place for a facility to turn dairy manure into energy because it is home to nearly 6,000 dairy farms, more than any other state. We’re also home to more than 1.25 million cows.*

Biodiesel Is Derived from Many Products

Renewable biodiesel can be made from a range of organic and recycled products, including soybean oil, used cooking oils, inedible corn oils, canola, tallow, fats and algae.

These renewable products are defined as feedstocks for producing biodiesel. Blends of biodiesel in heating oil are shown in percentages. For example, a 5% blend of biodiesel is defined as B5. B10 refers to a 10% blend, while B20 is a 20% blend.

Since Bioheat fuel relies on renewable, biodegradable, nontoxic resources, our country can continually produce new supplies throughout the nation, and it is virtually free of sulfur and other impurities.

Why Bioheat Fuel Saves Oilheat Consumers Money

Ultra-low sulfur Bioheat fuel burns more cleanly and thus, more efficiently than heating oil from the past, which had a much higher level of sulfur. As a result, you’ll be using less heat to get the same amount of warmth, and your heating system will last longer. You’ll also likely find that you need fewer repairs on your system. You may also be able to extend the time between system maintenance. All these factors mean energy savings!

Bioheat fuel is just making a good thing better. Heating oil has long been a superstar when it comes to keeping homes affordably warm. That’s because heating oil packs a wallop of heat energy. For every gallon of oil burned, nearly 140,000 Btu’s of heat are produced. To put that in perspective, that’s the equivalent of about 70,000 60-watt lightbulbs.

Technology has also brought great improvements in heating oil equipment efficiency, reducing annual fuel consumption by 20% or more. This has saved heating oil consumers a lot of money on fuel.

Today’s heating equipment regularly achieves efficiency levels of 85% or better. With the introduction of higher blends of ultra-low sulfur Bioheat fuel, we will start to see more super-high-efficiency systems available in the U.S. These systems will achieve efficiency levels of 90% or more.

Bioheat Fuel Vs. Biofuel

Biofuel is a broad term that can include various products including not only biodiesel, but ethanol, renewable hydrocarbon diesel, and raw vegetable oil known as RVO or LR100. It’s important to note that raw vegetable oil does not meet industry specifications; it is not biodiesel or Bioheat fuel and it is not suitable for home heating oil use.

Heating Equipment and Bioheat Fuel

Most major heating system manufacturers accept Bioheat fuel as covered under their warranties for use, and you won’t need to make any changes to your furnace, boiler or heating oil storage tank to use it. Performance standards for Bioheat fuel have been approved by ASTM International, an organization that sets industry standards for fuels and lubricants.

Save $600 with Federal Tax Credits

Homeowners can now claim a federal tax credit of $600 for installing ENERGY STAR-certified heating oil systems that use renewable fuel blends of at least 20% biodiesel.

There are long-term savings too. A new heating oil system should help you save 20% or more on your annual heating costs.

The inclusion of tax credits for heating equipment powered by liquid renewable fuels provides validation that Bioheat fuel can reliably cut carbon emissions from homes.

Please reach out to your Wisconsin heating oil company to learn more about the benefits of Bioheat fuel.
* Source: https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Publications/WIAgStatistics.aspx