Cato Bio-fuels
Cato Gas & Oil aggressively looks to provide our customers with the quality product they deserve while working to keep our environment safe and clean. We believe our efforts to initiate a strong bio-fuel program is critical to being the provider you have come to trust.
Benefits bio-fuel development and delivery will bring to the Eastern Shore:
Environmental Benefits:
Biodiesel contains no sulfur or aromatics, and use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel
engine results in substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide
and particulate matter. A U.S. Department of Energy study showed that the production
and use of biodiesel, compared to petroleum diesel, resulted in a 78.5% reduction in
carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, biodiesel has a positive energy balance. For
every unit of energy needed to produce a gallon of biodiesel, 3.24 units of energy are
gained.
Energy Security Benefits:
With agricultural commodity prices approaching record lows, and petroleum prices
approaching record highs, it is clear that more can be done to utilize domestic
surpluses of vegetable oils while enhancing our energy security. Because biodiesel can
be manufactured using existing industrial production capacity, and used with
conventional equipment, it provides substantial opportunity for immediately addressing
our energy security issues.
If the true cost of using foreign oil were imposed on the price of imported fuel,
renewable fuels, such as biodiesel, probably would be the most viable option. For
instance, in 1996, it was estimated that the military costs of securing foreign oil was $57
billion annually. Foreign tax credits accounted for another estimated $4 billion annually
and environmental costs were estimated at $45 per barrel. For every billion dollars
spent on foreign oil, America lost 10,000 – 25,000 jobs.
Economic Benefits:
Increased utilization of renewable biofuels results in significant microeconomic benefits
to both the urban and rural sectors, and the balance of trade. A study completed in
2001 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that an average annual increase of
the equivalent of 200 million gallons of soy-based biodiesel demand would boost total
crop cash receipts by $5.2 billion cumulatively by 2010, resulting in an average net farm
income increase of $300 million per year. The price for a bushel of soybeans would
increase by an average of 17 cents annually during the ten-year period.
In addition to being a domestically produced, renewable alternative fuel for diesel
engines, biodiesel has positive performance attributes such as increased cetane, high
fuel lubricity, and high oxygen content, which may make it a preferred blending stock
with future ultra-clean diesel.
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