Sprague will supply biodiesel and Bioheat at the Sunoco Logistics Newark terminal, making it the first barge/pipeline-accessible terminal in the state to provide the two fuels. Bioheat is a trademark of the National Biodiesel Board.   

“Energy is one of America’s foremost and most complex challenges,” Sprague Energy President and CEO David Glendon said in a statement. “While high prices capture most of the attention today, sustainability, product reliability and reducing pollution are critical as well.   

“Biodiesel is produced from renewable agricultural commodities, and reduces harmful emissions. This will help provide us and generations that follow with cleaner air to breathe. Sprague has chosen to take a leadership position in this critical market because it is the right thing to do — for New Jersey, for America and, indeed, for the global environment.”   

Michael J. Hennigan, president and chief operating officer at SXL, said, “Our goal is to provide the terminal and pipeline infrastructure our customers demand. By adding biodiesel and Bioheat blending capability at the Newark terminal, Sunoco Logistics continues to meet our customers’ needs for biofuels distribution.”   Sprague and SXL note that the private investment in Newark will afford users a clean, ready-to-use, drop-in fuel replacement without costly equipment modifications and end-user infrastructure costs.   

Sprague will have the ability to provide multiple biodiesel and Bioheat blends at the terminal for ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), heating oil, and, in the future, ultra-low-sulfur kerosene #l diesel fuel. Blends available are B2, B5, B10 and B20.    

Product will be drawn from 132,000 gallons of bulk neat biodiesel storage, utilizing state-of-the-art rack injection. Sprague and SXL say the rack-loading equipment is essential for providing precise metered quantities for the desired blend to meet customers’ demands and equipment manufacturers’ requirements.    “In the past, handling, blending, and delivering biofuel hadbeen expensive and challenging relative to the same processes for fossilfuels,” Sprague and SXL said in today’s announcement. “The terminal infrastructure required to bring the fuels together properly was not available and is still not in some areas.    

“Biofuel marketers used archaic ‘splash blending’ techniques where the biofuel and regular petroleum distillate were pumped into a tank truck, usually at two different locations, adding time and costs to the process, and also threatening the quality of the product because of inconsistent blending methods. Injecting biodiesel with the automated rack blending system saves time and money while ensuring a homogeneous blend.”   

The Newark facility is expected to help distributors supply biodiesel and Bioheat in the high-demand areas of northern and central New Jersey and significantly expand biodiesel and Bioheat to commercially fueled fleets and residential home heating oil consumers. The biodiesel feedstock supplied will be produced from vegetable oil, animal fats and recycled cooking oil.   

A ceremony celebrating the official opening of the terminal will be held at 1:30 p.m. local time today. Speakers at the event will include Joe Jobe, chief executive officer of the National Biodiesel Board.   “From coast to coast we are seeing a resurgence of biodiesel use and infrastructure development as our industry gears up for what is expected to be a record-breaking production year,” Jobe said. “The National Biodiesel Board applauds Sprague’s and Sunoco’s investment in biodiesel, America’s advanced biofuel.”   

SXL was an early adopter of biofuels when it added ethanol blending at 38 terminals in the Northeast, Midwest, and Texas markets. With the Newark terminal now offering biodiesel, the company provides the fuel at 12 terminals in multiple markets. Together, the terminals provide more than 1.3 million gallons of biodiesel storage and the ability to blend over 60,000 b/d of ULSD.   

SXL’s terminal in Newark, a NYMEX-listed supply point, receives light products (gasoline, ULSD and ultra-low-sulfur kerosene) from multiple pipelines, as well as waterborne transport via two docks that can receive product by barge for subsequent storage and re-delivery to trucks through a fully automated loading rack. Distillate products, such as heating oil and ULSD, can also be loaded onto barges. In addition to handling biofuels, the facility maintains a full slate of additives to meet customer needs. The terminal has easy access to both the New Jersey Turnpike and the city of Newark.