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100% biodiesel program cutting carbon emissions in Chicago

The Chicago Park District, Illinois Soybean Association and American Lung Association have teamed up to create better air quality though biodiesel.

By running 100% biodiesel in park garbage trucks, the team has improved air quality and reduced carbon emissions equivalent to planting 419 trees in Chicago parks annually.

Pete Probst is a contractor for the Chicago Park District’s B100 program and the Illinois Soybean Association. He tells Brownfield the diesel is made from recycled cooking oil which comes from soybeans.

“This project really highlights the contributions being made by Midwest farmers to combat climate change, provide local renewable energy jobs and help clean the air in congested cities like Chicago.”

He says this is the second year for the B100 pilot program and they hope others can use it as a model in the future.

“There are a lot of fleets that commonly use a B11 or B20 blend ad so the other benefit of this program is that it is sort of a leadership role and it shows other fleets that they don’t have to be afraid of using B20 or beyond we are able to operate at B100 with no adverse effects.”

In 2019, participating trucks logged 12,000 miles and nearly 2700 hours of operation, generating significant data on engine performance as well as carbon emissions.