UPS Begins Using Biodiesel at Major U.S. Hub

What can SOY do for you? It starts by helping the company known for its brown go green. The United Parcel Service (UPS) recently began using soy biodiesel at its most vital hub, in Louisville, Ky., a location that processes 416,000 packages per hour and turns around 100 aircraft per day.

“There is a finite amount of petroleum-based fuel available from our planet so it is important that UPS and other companies invest in ways to use alternative fuels and technologies, including biodiesel,” said Scott Wicker, UPS chief sustainability officer. “This project helps us reduce our dependence on fossil fuels with the added benefit that it will also reduce air pollution and carbon emissions.”

The soybean checkoff supports biodiesel through research and promotion and helped pave the way for its commercialization. The checkoff continues to fund most of biodiesel market-building efforts conducted by the National Biodiesel Board.

UPS plans to fuel nearly 200 vehicles and its diesel-fueled equipment with a recently installed 30,000-gallon biodiesel fuel tank and fueling station. The station allows users to blend biodiesel on the spot starting at 5 percent (B5) and working up to 20 percent biodiesel (B20).

Biodiesel remains a promising market for excess soybean oil. In the most recent marketing year, the biodiesel industry represented 14 percent of total soy oil consumption, the second largest user. Biodiesel continues to set itself apart from other biofuels, by achieving the Environmental Protection Agency’s designation as the first commercially available advanced biofuel.