(NAFB) – Thirty-nine environmental, food, motor vehicle, energy, power equipment and recreational industry groups have joined forces, launching a joint campaign calling on Congress to require thorough and objective scientific testing before allowing an increase in the amount of ethanol in gasoline. EPA has indicated it will make a decision by the end of September on whether to approve E15 in gasoline. The groups want hearings before then.

The group wants the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to question top EPA and Department of Energy officials regarding the safety of a proposal to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline from the current 10 percent to 15 percent.

Ethanol burns hotter than gasoline and corrodes soft metals, plastics and rubber. The groups believe more testing is needed to determine how much ethanol is too much for different types of existing engines to use safely without risking engine damage and failure that could leave vehicles stranded and endanger motorists and users of gasoline-powered equipment.

(NAFB) – The country’s leading bio-lubricant research center, the University of Northern Iowa’s National Ag-Based Lubricants Center, has received a 370-thousand dollar competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to test biobased lubricants and greases. The center will perform a side-by-side study of the biobased rail curve grease and hydraulic oils with petroleum-based versions of the same products. The goal is to compare the performance as well as the environmental and economic impact of each.

The study is provided for in the Railroad Safety Improvement Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2008.  The law required the Federal Railroad Administration to conduct a study on the use of biobased lubricants in the freight and passenger rail industries, including fuels for locomotives, greases for rail track and rolling stock lubrications and hydraulic oils for the maintenance of way and other railroad equipment.

The UNI-NABL investigation will include: the potential use of soy-based grease and soy-based hydraulic fluids; the health and safety of petroleum-based lubricants vs. biobased lubricants; the environmental impact of petroleum based lubricants vs. biobased lubricants; and the effects of biobased lubricants on railroad equipment.