BSBIOS provides B100 for public transportation in Linha Verde

Public transportation begins riding with pure biodiesel

On 07/22, the cooperation term for the use of B100 (pure biodiesel) in Linha Verde, urban location on BR-476, in the paranaense capital in Curitiba was signed. From August, six buses, where three are from Scania and three are from Volvo, will ride through the paranaense capital in a period of tests, over 18 months. The estimate of Urbs, a company that manages the city public transportation is that about 20 thousand liters biodiesel per month are consumed.

That will be the first initiative of Brazil running 100% with biofuel in public buses. "Scania achieved tests with B100 in Europe only, with biodiesel under European specifications [European Normative14214]", informs Marco Antônio Garcia, manager of Field Test and Special Vehicles of Scania in Brazil. The Institute of Technology of Paraná (Tecpar), in the sector of Biofuels, will work on the monitoring of tests of Scania and Volvo engines, besides verifying, in partnership with Pro Biodiesel, the quantity of fuel and the level of emissions. Partners of the project: Urbs, BSBIOS plant, deliverering RDP Petroleum, Auto Viação Redentor and Viação Cidade Sorriso Ltda operators, Tecpar and Pro Biodiesel, and Scania and Volvo automakers.

Biodiesel will be produced by the unit of BSBIOS in Passo Fundo (RS) and withdrawn by the RDP deliverering, which will deliver it to Viação Redentor and Cidade Sorriso.

Erasmo Battistella, chief executive officer of BSBIOS, said, during the signature of the cooperation term in Curitiba, that the use of B100 (pure biodiesel) is a historical fact for the country, since even the use of biodiesel is recent in Brazil, vehicles of public transportation begin to ride with B100. "This initiative in Curitiba goes straightforward to meet a claim from the productive sector, represented by Ubrabio, for the compulsory use of B20 in large cities. This represents more health for population that will breathe air with less sulfur, then, it will make that the government spends less with public health, and also bringing benefits for the environment, he asserted. Erasmo still emphasized, the importance of the encouragement from the Federal Government for the use greater index of biodiesel in mineral diesel, thus it is the large promoter of the biodiesel program. BSBIOS managed to enter the paranaense market recently with the purchase of plant Agrenco, in Marialva. According to Battistella, the plant will begin its operations in January 2010.

The agreement was signed by the chairman of Urbs, Marcos Isfer; by the municipal secretary of Environment, José Antonio Andreguetto; by Erasmo Carlos Battistella, of BSBIOS; representatives of engine and chassis manufacturers, Alexandre Parker, of Volvo do Brasil, and Marco Antonio Garcia, of Scania Latin América; Edilson Bernardin do Pro biodiesel, of the Programa Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico and Combustíveis Alternativos; public transportation operators Redentor, Acir Gulin and Cidade Sorriso, Donato Gulin; of Tecpar, Wellington Wagner Dias Vechiatto; and Petroleum Deliverering RDP, Maurício Chicre Abou-Rejaile.