SANTA CLARITA / ANTELOPE VALLEY : City Buses Used in Fuel Experiment

Most Southern Californians are reluctant to get out of their cars and into public transportation, but this city’s buses have a new selling point. They’ve got Wesson-ality.

Four buses in Santa Clarita’s 33-bus fleet are using a blend of diesel fuel and vegetable oils as part of a nationwide program by the National SoyDiesel Development Board. The fuel not only contributes to cleaner air, but also smells better, officials said.

Santa Clarita is one of 30 cities, including five in California, with buses now using 20% biodiesel for a 50,000-mile test run. The Missouri-based SoyDiesel trade agency hopes to carve out a larger market for the alternative fuel by showing it’s as reliable as its petroleum-based cousin.

Biodiesel is similar to the vegetable oil in your kitchen cupboard, minus the glycerin, which is removed with the application of alcohol and a catalyst in a process called transesterification.

Although it is more expensive than traditional diesel--$2.50 a gallon compared to $1 or less for diesel--biodiesel is drawing more interest as stricter air-quality requirements take effect.

“We want to test if there are other ways of meeting federal and state standards without having to switch to a new fuel,” said Ron Kilcoyne, Santa Clarita transportation manager. “We thought this was a great idea to help meet stringent clean-air requirements without going to an expensive fuel system.”

The material is compatible with existing engines, providing similar horsepower and mileage while allowing municipalities to avoid hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in retrofitting expenses.

Biodiesel generates half the soot particles and carbon monoxide of conventional diesel fuel. A mix of 80% diesel and 20% biodiesel, costing 30 to 40 cents more than straight diesel, can reduce carbon monoxide by 21% and soot particles by 31%, according to the SoyDiesel trade group.

“This compound has some of the same composition as diesel fuel,” said Kenlon Johannes, executive director of the National SoyDiesel Development Board. “The combustion engine doesn’t know the difference, but the tailpipe does.”

That also makes the exhaust smell better, cutting down what many transit operators affectionately call the “big blue haze” when buses pull away from curbs. Those who have used biodiesel in earlier programs say the smell is more like fried food.

Avoiding the thick, black belch of smoke when buses accelerate also may help transit systems avoid the stereotype that their buses are actually adding more pollution into the air than automobiles, Kilcoyne said.

Santa Clarita was first approached for the program about six months ago. “We sent them a free 55-gallon barrel and they tried it and liked it,” Johannes said.

The trade agency is now providing Santa Clarita with enough biodiesel for the entire 50,000-mile experiment--or about 12,500 gallons. “I don’t normally like to be a guinea pig unless I know our expenses are going to be reimbursed,” Kilcoyne said.

All four of the Santa Clarita buses in the experiment are used for local routes, rather than commuting lines into Los Angeles, city officials said.

Santa Clarita’s participation in the program was interrupted by the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, but is expected to resume by the end of this month.

Buses must use alternate fueling sites to fill up with the blended diesel fuel, and Santa Clarita transit officials have opted to suspend the experiment until city buses are running normally. Some city buses were taken off their regular routes because of traffic problems caused by the earthquake.