Vitebskoblautotrans saves about Br200 million monthly by using biofuel.

May 11, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The republican unitary enterprise "Vitebskoblautotrans" saves about Br200 million monthly by using biodiesel. This was stated in a conversation with a BELTA correspondent by the enterprise's General Director Alexander Semenets. The transport workers first refueled vehicles with eco-friendly fuel last year. Today, the bio-fleet includes almost 300 trucks and buses. However, there could be significantly more of them if the quality of domestic biodiesel were higher, the interlocutor noted. According to him, only vehicles with old Yaroslavl-made engines run on biofuel without failures. Western European engines installed in modern buses are more demanding on fuel quality. At the same time, the enterprise hopes that with the opening of new biofuel production plants, its quality will improve, and it will be possible to switch more vehicles and buses to eco-friendly and economical fuel. Compared to conventional diesel fuel, biodiesel contains less sulfur. The fuel has a lubricating effect, which extends the engine's service life. According to Alexander Semenets, a liter of diesel fuel costs the enterprise Br2.2 thousand, while biodiesel costs Br1.6 thousand. In Belarus, biodiesel production (diesel fuel with a 5% bioadditive of fatty acid methyl esters from rapeseed oil DT B5) began in 2007. This type of fuel meets the requirements of STB 1658-2006 "Fuel for internal combustion engines. Diesel fuel". In 2009, Belarus plans to produce about 390 thousand tons of biodiesel. Biodiesel production in the European Union began in 1992. Currently, there are over 200 production plants with a total capacity of more than 16 million tons. The European Organization for Standardization has developed the EN14214 standard for biodiesel. In addition to it, there are standards EN590 (or EN590:2000) and DIN 51606. The first describes the physical properties of all types of diesel fuel sold in the EU, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland. DIN 51606 is a German standard developed considering compatibility with engines of almost all leading car manufacturers, therefore it is the strictest. Most types of biodiesel produced for commercial purposes in Europe meet or even exceed it. -0-