STATE BY STATE
N E W S
10 JANUARY 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
NEW YORK
NYOHA Helps NYC Students Learn
the Science of Bioheat
®
Fuel
The New York Oil Heating Association is helping a teacher in
Bronx, N.Y., use clean-burning Bioheat® fuel as a teaching tool
in HVAC training.
Peter Gonzalez is teaching the science of Bioheat® fuel—as
well as math, chemistry and English—to Bronx Design and
Construction Academy juniors this fall, with the help of NYOHA,
AMERIgreen fuel, and Schildwachter Oil Company. "New York
City has mandated a 2% biodiesel blend, and I'm trying to edu-
cate the students on Bioheat® fuel and the importance of the
industry going green," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez will teach his students about how different blends
of biodiesel perform and the issues that may be encountered.
Additional area companies stepped up to donate piping, fittings,
copper and test kits to aid in the student projects.
"We are very proud to support the excellent work that Peter
Gonzalez is doing to help prepare New York City students for a
future in the Bioheat® fuel industry," said NYOHA CEO Rocco
Lacertosa. A member of the school's HVAC Advisory Board,
Lacertosa recently visited the class and discussed the industry as
well as career opportunities with Gonzalez's students. A photo
gallery and video of his visit is available at NYOHA.org.
NYOHA arranged to have Schildwachter Oil Company deliver
150 gallons of AMERIgreen's B100 Bioheat® fuel to the school.
The students burn various blends in heating equipment and use
combustion analysis tools to profile the emissions at each level.
"We were honored to get the call from AMERIgreen Energy
about delivering a load of biodiesel to a local school in our area.
Hopefully these students will continue their interests in this
industry," said Peter Schildwachter of Schildwachter Fuel Oil.
Experimenting with blend levels is a timely exercise for the
students, because the New York City Council is now considering
raising the biodiesel blend level to 5% in 2016 and 20% by 2030.
New York City currently requires a minimum of B2 Bioheat®
fuel—a blend of 2% biodiesel with #2 or #4 heating oil; and New
York State requires the use of ultra-low sulfur heating oil, which
has 99% less sulfur than traditional heating oil.
"It is so wonderful to partner with NYOHA and this area
Bronx school that shows an interest in teaching their students
about biodiesel and renewable sources of energy," said Michael
Devine, AMERIgreen's New England sales and marketing rep-
resentative.