OSU professor travels coast-to-coast to preach the gospel of biofuel

David Hackleman has driven cross-country plenty of times during his life, enough to know that there’s nothing predictable about a coast-to-coast trip.

“You never know what you’re going to get into,” he said.

But this trip is a little different. Hackleman set off in his Dodge Ram diesel pickup truck Thursday afternoon with a very special mission, to share his enthusiasm for biodiesel with as many people as possible.

Hackleman is the Linus Pauling Endowed Chair of the chemical engineering department at Oregon State University and a retired chief technologist for technology development operations at Hewlett-Packard Co. He is also a biodiesel advocate, and has run his truck on 100 percent biodiesel since he purchased it new in 2004.

Biodiesel, which is derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, can be used to fuel vehicles and machinery or as an alternative to heating oil. It is manufactured mostly in the Midwest, and is usually made from soybeans, although canola and palm oil can also be used. It can be used in pure form, or mixed with regular diesel.

For Hackleman, the beauty of biodiesel lies on its potential to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of fuel.

“It helps farmers, and it helps our state,” he said.

Hackleman didn’t have to do a thing to his Cummins diesel engine to run it on biodiesel, in fact, all newer vehicles with diesel engines can run on biodiesel, either pure or mixed, with no problems. Older engines that have rubber seals must have those seals replaced with synthetic rubber, which won’t be corroded by biodiesel.

The OSU professor first got interested in biodiesel when he became an advisor to some students who were studying biofuels. The more he learned, the more excited he became about the possibilities of a clean burning fuel that could be made from natural products.

“I feel it’s a very important thing for us,” he said. “Oregon can grow its own fuel.”

Hackleman is teaching a science summer program in West Virginia in mid-July, and it suddenly struck him that it provided the perfect opportunity to drive cross-country and share the news about biodiesel with those he meets. He’s basing his stops on places he has friends, and places he can refuel with biodiesel.

While Oregon has plenty of biodiesel stations along the I-5 corridor, the further east he heads, the less likely it is that he’ll be able to find many places to refuel with certified biodiesel, especially in its pure form. He has a 39-gallon fuel tank, and two 50-gallon tanks in the truck bed, which should last about 2,500 miles. Right now, biodiesel is running about 30 cents more per gallon than regular diesel.

He figures that should be plenty in between refueling stations, but he’s not sure he’ll always be able to find pure biodiesel. A Ham radio operator, he’ll be contacting friends on the road and getting information on potential biodiesel sources wherever he goes.

During the trip, he’ll be stopping at national parks and places where people are gathered together, and hopes that his truck, and his message, will get people interested in asking questions about biodiesel.

“It takes all of us to make this happen,” he said. “Take the step and pay a little bit more to make a better Oregon.”

For more information on biodiesel, go to www.biodiesel.org.