Press Releases

Blended Heating Oil Draws Attention
Sunday, September 5, 2004, Shaun Lockhart

A Kutztown company offers a combination of petroleum and biodiesel ― said to burn cleaner than regular heating oil.

It might cost a little more than regular oil, but one home heating alternative is drawing attention in Berks County and elsewhere because it’s safer for the environment.

A blend of petroleum and biodiesel ― a fuel made from domestic, renewable resources such as corn or soybeans ― burns cleaner than regular heating oil, according to the National Biodiesel Board, a trade group that promotes its use. Don Farrell, publisher of Oil Heating Journal, a New Jersey-based publication, said blended oils aren’t new but that their availability is growing. “I wouldn’t say it’s a major trend yet, but it’s popping up more and more,” Farrell said. Blended oils costs about 20 cents more per gallon that their pure petroleum counterparts. But Charles A. Cole, a director or the environmental training center at Penn State’s Harrisburg campus, said that as oil prices rise, alternatives such as biodiesel blends will become less expensive by comparison.“The price of energy in this country has been extremely low,” Cole said. “It’s allowed us to have a very high lifestyle.” Edward Kapsa of Kutztown is one local man giving the biodiesel blend a try, even though it could cost him about $200 more to heat his home this winter Kapsa, 66, doesn’t consider himself an environmentalist, but he said he worries about the future his 10 grandchildren will have to deal with when oil supplies dwindle further.“The dependency on oil is going to weigh heavily on future generations,” he said. “When I realized I could purchase this locally, it kind of started making sense.” And considering that American farmers ― whose crops are used to create the “bio” part of biodiesel ― benefit from sales of the product helps make the additional cost an easier pill to swallow. Kapsa’s heating oil, called Purofuel, is a blend that he purchased from Moyer’s Plumbing and Heating in Kutztown. Company owner Steven T. Moyer said he began offering the blend as a way to distinguish himself in the home-heating oil market and as a way to help the environment. “Heating oil blended with biodiesel can reduce the amount of chemicals released in the atmosphere by as much as 80 percent,” he said. Moyer said he now uses the oil blend at home and at his business. “I’m concerned about all the stuff we are pumping into the air,” Moyer said. “This is something proactive for future generations.” But there are some barriers to the fuel’s success. “The higher price, the lack of distribution and the small supply are hindrances that will have to be dealt with before it can rise to prominence,” Farrell said. Moyer said response to the blended fuel, which he began selling this summer, has been largely positive, although the number of customers who have bought it is still small. He said that as regular heating oil prices rise ― as experts predict they will ― blended oils will likely become more popular.