BioPreferred Champions: Sustainable

Operations – Clean Green, Maintain Green,

Serve GreenTim TrittschuhAutomotive Mechanic

Fort Custer National CemeteryNational Cemetery Administration

(NCA)Department of Veterans Affairs

Advantages of Bio

• Spills in the field are not as big of a concern for groundwater and soil contamination.

• Hydraulic and fuel systems are scoured clean due to the natural cleansing effects.

• Cost of product stays at home.

Disadvantages

• May react with rubber parts on older equipment (hoses & seals).

• Bio fuel may initially clog filters until system is clean.

• Cost

• Will leave hard to remove residue where it can lay and collect dirt.

Hydraulic Oils

• We have been using Bio Universal Transdraulic (J20C) and Bio Hydrostatic (J20D) in 17 pieces of equipment with no problems.

2-Cycle Engine Oil

• We have been using Bio TC-W3 2-cycle engine oil in 37 pieces of our small equipment with no increase of lubrication issues.

Penetrating Oil

• The Bio Penetrating Oil (BPL) is used for door hinges, locks, and various pivot points on the equipment. It does the job of lubricating but has the same disadvantages as the hydraulic oils- hard to remove build up around use points and swelling of rubber parts it comes in contact with.

Gear oil• Gear oil is a GL5

80W90 that has replaced all gear oils except 1 at Fort Custer. It has worked well with no unusual problems.

• This is a low turn-over oil that has been in the systems for 4 years so far.

• (Used in 27 pieces of our equipment)

Bar and Chain Oil

• This is a 5W30 or a 15W40 depending on season of use in the saws. Guide, drive sprocket and chain wear have not been a problem.

• Cold pour points have not been a problem.

• We are not putting a petroleum product into the environment using this product.

• (Used in 6 chainsaws)

Fuel Treatments• Diesel Bio Power treatment is used in our fuel to

improve stability, clean injectors, and help disperse water in our B20 summer and B5 winter blends. An additional anti gel is used in the winter.

• We were advised that there may be fuel filter clogs until the fuel systems were cleansed- we did not experience this problem. The only problem we had was fuel supply hoses swelling on older (1980) equipment.

• The gasoline is treated with Bio Power gasoline treatment- no problems with gasoline.

Purchasing

• There are several companies that sell Bio. Fort Custer uses Renewable Lubricants in Hudson, Ohio as our supplier. www.renewablelube.com

• They were helpful with the research to make sure that the product was compatible and met manufacturer specifications.

NCA Green Purchasing Procedures, NCA Handbook 0058 Greening VA – Green Purchasing webpage, www.va.gov/environment/GreenPurchasing.asp

Environmental Management Points of Contact

Valerie Barlow, Logistics Management Service, NCA, VA

703-441-1009, valerie.barlow@va.gov Don Campbell, Office of Construction Management, NCA, VA

202-461-8989, donald.campbell@va.gov Tim Trittschuh, Fort Custer National Cemetery, NCA, VA

269-731-4173, tim.trittschuh@va.gov Sue Nogas, Office of Asset Enterprise Management, VA

202-461-7776, sue.nogas@va.gov United Soybean Board, 800-989-8721, www.unitedsoybean.org

Biopreferred Champions: Sustainable Operations –

Clean Green, Maintain Green, Serve Green

Carmela A. BaileyNational Program Leader,

Agricultural MaterialsNational Institute for Food and

AgricultureUSDA

Biobased Functional Fluids

• Overview– USDA’s National Institute for

Food and Agriculture: USDA’s link to academia

– What does sustainability mean?– Success stories

•Hydraulic fluid•Transformer oil•Greases and lubricants

Mission: To advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and well being, and communities

Multifunctional linkage:

RESEARCH

EDUCATION EXTENSION

NIFA is unique within the Federal government

USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture

Land Grant Colleges and Universities

WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?

•Meeting the needs of the current generation while preserving the ability of future generations to meet their needs

•The needs are economic, environmental, and social

•Philosophy that focuses on the necessity of an integrated approach to addressing economic, environmental and social issues

SIGNIFICANCE OF BIOBASED PRODUCTS

USDA PERSPECTIVE

• New business opportunities• Economic development in rural areas• Value-added products • Diversification in agriculture• Sustainable development - renewable

resources • Stimulation of R&D

SIGNIFICANCE OF BIOBASED PRODUCTSPROCUREMENT PERSPECTIVE

• performance advantage - as good as or better than conventional counterparts

• meet environmental goals - enable agencies to purchase less toxic and non-hazardous products that support solid waste reduction and other objectives 

SIGNIFICANCE OF BIOBASED PRODUCTSNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

U.S. can have a reliable supply of industrial products for defense, industry and the consumer, based on renewable raw materials supplied by the American farmer

Field Demonstration of Military Bio-based

Hydraulic Fluids Using Construction Equipment

at Fort Leonard WoodDr. In-Sik Rhee

Fuels and Lubricants Technology TeamU.S. Army Tank Automotive Research,

Developmentand Engineering Center

Projected Benefits for Biobased Fluids

• Reduce hazardous waste by natural recycling

- Reduce petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in landfill

- Preserve ground water and soil

- Reduce disposal costs of hazardous waste

- Reduce clean up costs of soil and ground water

• Reduce petroleum consumption

• Alternative lubrication resource

• Accomplish P2 program

• Others

Field Demonstration

• Field tests initiated using ten pieces of construction equipment ( i.e., Crane, Bulldozer, Scraper, Grader, Loader, Excavator, etc.) at Fort Leonard Wood, MO.

• Five (5) BHFs qualified under MIL-PRF-32073 Bio-based hydraulic fluid specification selected as field demonstration samples.

• Evaluation criteria used in this demonstration are their field operational performances and vehicle system compatibility such as seal leaking, and field sample evaluation.

• Evaluate Storage Stability (Shelf Life) of Bio-based Fluids.

• Duration of tests was designed for three (3) year.

• Cooperate with PM of Construction Equipment and TARDEC Construction Team.

• If field demonstration successes, fluids will be permanently introduced into military system

Test Protocol for Laboratory Evaluation

Test Method

Viscosity ASTM D 445

Water content ASTM D 6304

Oxidation Stability ASTM D 6186, ASTM D 664

Evaporation ASTM E 1131

Low temperature Stability ASTM D 6351

Elemental Analysis X-ray Technique

Composition Analysis ASTM D 7373

4-7 May 2009 26

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0 1 2 3

Visc

osity

(cSt

)

Time (years)

Viscosity Profile over Storage Period

A

B

C

D

E

28

Conclusions • Field demonstration has completed using five MIL-PRF-32073

bio-based fluids and ten types of construction equipment at Fort Leonard Wood, MO.

• Field test results indicated that bio-based fluids did not show any abnormal behavior nor incompatibility with hydraulic systems such as oil leaking or operational problem.

• In addition, laboratory results from field samples indicated only normal degradation during demonstration period as compared to petroleum products.

• Bio-based fluids are compatible with existing petroleum based fluids. Fluids can be interchanged without major cleaning effort.

• Bio-based fluids did not change their properties for three years of storage periods. Their shelf life are longer than three years.

• Bio-based fluids can be used in military construction Equipment. Performance is the same as Petroleum based fluids.

Transition from Petroleum-based

Hydraulic Fluids to Bio-based Fluids

• Recommended to Military Construction Equipment Managers to use Bio-based fluids as military alternative operational fluids for Construction Equipment.

• This recommendation is in process within Army.

Determining Environmental Preferability of a Biobased

Transformer Oil• University of Northern Iowa• Waverly Power and Light• National Institute for Standards and

Technology• Environmental Protection Agency

BEES BMODEL 3.0

Smog

Global Warming

Acidification

Eutrophication

Fossil Fuel Depletion

Indoor Air Quality

Habitat Alteration

First Cost

Future Costs

Carbon Dioxide

Methane

Nitrous Oxide

Ozone DepletionEcological Toxicity

Human Health

Water IntakeCriteria Air Pollutants

EnvironmentalPerformance

Score

EconomicPerformance

Score

BEES Results:Transformer Oils

BEES Results:Transformer Oils

BEES Results:Transformer Oils

BEES Results:Transformer Oils

Results and Outcomes

• BEES model has been optimized for biobased products

• BioTrans is environmentally preferable

• Biobased transformer oils are a commerical success

NABL – University of Northern IowaRail curve grease• Truck greases• Gear oils• Bar and chain oil• Drilling fluid• Environmental Lubricants Manufacturing (ELM)• www.elmusa.com • Lubrimatic products

Conclusions

• Biobased products:– Have been demonstrated to

perform as well as or better than conventional products

– Are environmentally preferable– Help federal agencies meet

environmental goals