The distribution of biodiesel-blended fuels in the nation's Northeast just got easier. Worley and Obetz, a Manheim, Pa.-based energy company, announced that the East Coast's first biodiesel injection blending terminal opened Sept. 22. A grand opening was planned for Oct. 27.

The terminal is located at Petroleum Products Corp.'s pipeline terminal in Highspire, Pa. It is the largest pipeline terminal in the commonwealth. It is also strategically located near Interstates 283 and 83, as well as several other major highways.
Worley and Obetz was the first customer to load from the state-of-the-art facility. The automated system uses a computer that measures the percentage of each component of the fuel. Before the fuel reaches the customer's truck, it will have been seamlessly blended. Blends offered include B2, B3, B5, B10 and B20.

The system can blend 800 to 900 gallons of fuel per minute. The procedure is no different from the current procedure followed in purchasing diesel fuel or home heating oil from a standard petroleum terminal.

Previously, companies splash-blended biodiesel, which doesn't ensure a consistent, accurate blend.

Len Zvorsky, Worley and Obetz's compliance manager, told Biodiesel Magazine that his company has spent time educating other fuel marketers in Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas about the benefits of biodiesel-blended fuels. The company has held several symposiums, which should get other fuel marketers to use the new terminal and sell more biodiesel-blended fuel.
Zvorsky said he has heard no negative comments about biodiesel from fuel users and marketers. Worley and Obetz has been selling a brand of biodiesel called AmeriGreen Biodiesel for several years in the Northeast.