Since forming in 2013, Argent Materials, a regional recycler of concrete and asphalt, and supplier of aggregate materials, has diverted more than a billion pounds of waste from local landfills. Now, thanks to the company’s recent switch from petroleum diesel to Neste MY Renewable Diesel, it can add the elimination of fossil fuels from its fleet to its list of environmental accomplishments.
“We decided to switch to renewable diesel once our quality and availability concerns were satisfied,” says Bill Crotinger, president of Argent Materials, Oakland, Calif. “Our environmental track record and continual efforts to help our customers build more sustainable communities played a major role in our decision to use renewable diesel. It was another element of our philosophy to not just do the right thing, but make doing the right thing a normal part of doing business. Our experience has been positive. There’s no change in engine performance. We absolutely love the renewable nature of this product. We have noticed that the exhaust appears cleaner and seems less toxic.”
All of the renewable products Neste distributes in North America are made from 100 percent sustainably sourced waste materials such as used cooking oil, rendered fats and greases. These wastes come from meat processing facilities, hotels, restaurants, sports stadiums and many other venues with industrial kitchens.
Waste and residue materials contain a lot of carbon, one of the main building blocks for renewable diesel. Importantly, this is existing carbon already in the atmosphere, which means Neste MY Renewable diesel emits no new greenhouse gas emissions when used in its 100 percent pure form— or “neat”—in an engine.
The only new emissions occur during the production operations, which Neste aims to make carbon-neutral by 2035, and supply chain operations. Additionally, Neste is researching and developing a new generation of raw materials that could further enhance renewable diesel’s climate benefits, including municipal solid waste, algae, forestry waste and even converting electric power to liquids.
“Renewable diesel is a drop-in fuel that essentially transforms an internal combustion engine into equipment that helps fight climate change and air pollution,” says Carrie Song, vice president of sales, Neste US Inc. “As California progresses toward a carbon-neutral future, renewable diesel offers fleet operators an affordable and quick way to stay ahead of emissions standards with no extra costs by turning their medium and heavy-duty road vehicles from fossil fuel to fossil free. Like Neste, Argent is a leader in recycling solutions and proactively taking care of the environment. I’m confident Neste MY Renewable Diesel is not only providing a better fuel solution to Argent’s fleet, but is also delivering a distinct advantage to significantly decreasing its carbon footprint.”
Neste MY Renewable Diesel is available to public and private fleets in California through authorized distributors. Western States Oil, headquartered in San Jose, Calif., is the exclusive distributor of Neste MY Renewable Diesel to Argent Materials. — Neste US Inc., Houston, 713/407-4400; www.neste.us