Biodiesel Gets Stronger OK from MSHA
A Program Information Bulletin to underground metal and nonmetal mine operators and manufacturers of diesel-powered equipment used in those mines confirms using biodiesel in engines equipped with a diesel oxidation catalyst reduces total carbon levels in the air where miners work.
MSHA issued a Program Information Bulletin on Oct.13 telling underground metal and nonmetal mine operators and manufacturers of diesel-powered equipment used in those mines about its latest findings on biodiesel used in that equipment. Using biodiesel in engines equipped with a diesel oxidation catalyst reduces total carbon levels in the air where miners work, especially when the engine works hard.
Only one engine model was tested, but similar results should be achieved with other models, according to the bulletin. MSHA made the 206-page fuel test report available online.
Current MSHA standards limit an underground miner's exposure to total carbon, which is a measure combining elemental carbon and organic carbon. The bulletin explains how the fuel tests were conducted, the types of fuels used in them, and how OC and EC emission levels were affected by using biodiesel alone and with a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), which is a device tht has been used by mine operators since the 1960s to reduce emissions in underground mines. Biodiesel fuel is becomeing more widely used in underground metal and nonmetal mines, according to MSHA.