In the fast-paced world of the retail fuel industry, simplifying daily tasks is essential. Throughout Veeder-Root's rich history, that has been our main goal – developing innovative solutions that support industry needs. Thanks to federal incentives and other factors, retailers are increasingly gravitating toward biofuels. That’s why we collaborated with Total Meter Services (TMS) to launch the Biofuel Blending System (BBS): a simple, cost-efficient way to deliver accurate on-site biofuel blending at any retail location.
It's one thing for us to talk about the BBS, but we wanted to share an outside industry expert’s perspective on the solution.
Walt Friesen is the Director of Construction at Wayne Perry and has 35 years of fuel industry experience. More importantly, Walt installed the first BBS and has experience installing incumbent solutions, giving him insight for anyone considering biofuel blending. His main takeaways from the installation were: the forecourt space saved, speed of installation, financial benefits, maintenance, and use of easy-to-source parts.
What is the Biofuel Blending System?
The Biofuel Blending System is an in-line solution that utilizes the same technology as the widely adopted Additive Injection System (AIS), offering a versatile and accurate biofuel blending solution designed specifically for retail locations. The BBS represents a significant advancement in fuel blending technology. Operating with a +/- 0.5% target blend ratio, the BBS ensures consistent and precise blending of biofuels, meeting the demands of fuel retailers and their environmentally conscious customers.
What Needed to Change?
The biggest issue with other biofuel systems on the market was the amount of space they took up on the forecourt, according to Walt. Besides losing valuable real estate, competitive systems took a costly toll on other resources.
"The biofuel market had these huge injection systems, in 12’ x 8’ storage sheds that required a lot of electrical pumps, a huge sump, and a lot of piping that cost a lot to install,” said Walt. “They have motors that go inside the shed – it’s usually a couple of really big motors. Those take a lot of electricity to run.”
How Does the BBS Address Those Challenges?
In addition to reducing the size, simplifying the system’s piping and motors was a must too. So together with TMS, we got to work to create an effective solution.
“This unit is about a tenth of the size and has fewer moving parts,” said Walt. “We were able to put that in a small sump underground next to the tanks, and pipe in and inject the diesel right into the line so you didn’t have to take up any real estate.”
BBS does not use secondary motors either.
What Does Installation Look Like?
In addition to installing the first BBS, Walt has installed several hundred Additive Injection Systems, as well as a handful of competitor blending systems. With the BBS, Walt found installation to be about one-third faster than the other blending systems.
“The BBS is a much easier install,” said Walt. “It’s real quick. You have to put a sump in the ground, but you don’t have to have a shed taking up real estate. It’s really simple. I can install it in about two weeks. The other ones take about three weeks.1”
The corrosion-resistant stainless-steel construction gives retailers the option to install the system underground to preserve site lines. The BBS comes fully assembled and pressure tested before arriving on-site, and once the system is set in place, the piping and wiring connections can be made with confidence.
What are the Financial Benefits?
With lower costs for maintenance and installation, tax incentives, and minimal real estate considerations, the BBS is better financially in many ways.
“Just for installation it’s roughly 30 – 35% savings,” said Walt. “It's pretty much maintenance-free. And with the government subsidies, depending on how much you pump it’ll pay for itself in a year or less.”
Bottom Line
Walt thought the Biofuel Blending System built in collaboration with Veeder-Root and TMS addressed the changes that needed to be made to the old system. The BBS saves you on real estate by operating underground, it's quicker to install, provides your site with financial benefits, there's minimal maintenance needed, and the parts it runs on are easy to source.
"I would say go with the BBS by Veeder-Root and TMS," said Walt. "I think it’s a superior product, I love this system."
Click below to learn more about the Biofuel Blending System and contact your Veeder-Root distributor to get started.
- Exact installation timelines may vary.