Defining the Product Application
The choice of the fuels’ end-use can greatly affect the life cycle flows. Potential markets for biodiesel
cover a wide range of diesel applications, including most truck operations, stationary generation, mining
equipment, marine diesel engines, and bus fleets. In this study, we compare the use of petroleum diesel
and biodiesel in urban buses. This choice was based on the availability of end-use data. The urban bus
market was identified by the nascent U.S. biodiesel industry early on as a near-term opportunity, and a
large number of data are available on the performance of diesel bus engines.