What is Bio-Diesel?
Bio-diesel is an alternative fuel that is technically known as fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The main ingredients in bio-diesel are food related oils and fats. It can be created from fresh vegetable oil (corn oil, rapeseed oil, etc.), waste vegetable oil (WVO) from restaurants and industrial processes, animal fats (beef tallow, etc.), and used restaurant grease. All of these raw materials contain high concentrations of free fatty acids (FFAs), and they are renewable, which means they can be replenished within a reasonable amount of time (crops can be re-grown, etc.).
Bio-diesel is a drop-in replacement for standard fossil-derived diesel fuel. Any diesel engine with no modification can use B20, which is a blend of 20% bio-diesel and 80% traditional diesel fuel. Diesel engines manufactured before 1992 have rubber gaskets that corrode with prolonged use of B100 bio-diesel. Since the automotive industry switched away from rubber gaskets in 1992, modern diesel engines can operate on B100 (100% bio-diesel) without any problem
Why Bio-Diesel?
The Main reasons to go for BioDiesel are:
- Renewable fuel
- Environmental benefits
- Energy and Green house gas balance benefits
- Emission benefits
- Rural development
- Job opportunities
- Development of waste lands
- Production hubs in rural areas
- Foreign exchange savings
- Indigenous energy sufficiency
When compared with standard diesel, bio-diesel’s petroleum consumption is very economical. Standard diesel is derived from fossil fuels. Using current production techniques, one gallon of standard diesel costs approximately 1.2 BTUs worth of petroleum to produce. The production of bio-diesel requires the use of methanol which is petroleum derived, so it only consumes 0.31 BTUs worth of petroleum to produce one gallon of bio-diesel. Although experts disagree on the number of years our supply of oil has left, there is a consensus that the supply will run out within a century. Economical use of the remaining petroleum supply is necessary. Additionally, the United States’ dependence on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will be reduced with less consumption of petroleum.
The United States currently relies heavily on diesel technology. Railroad, trucking, construction, power production, and maritime industries all use diesel. The heavy investment in these industries creates a barrier of entry for a more ecological fuel. Bio-diesel’s “drop-in” replacement quality therefore makes it an attractive option compared to other ecological fuels.
As an ecological (or green) fuel, bio-diesel and the byproducts from its production are biodegradable and generally non-toxic. In particular, the sulfur content in bio-diesel exhaust is much lower than that in regular diesel. Table 2 on page 14 shows emissions besides NOx are considerably lower when burning bio-diesel.
In addition to the emission characteristics above, the carbon dioxide produced by combustion of 1 liter of bio-diesel is only 25% that of carbon dioxide produced by 1 liter of diesel from petroleum. Carbon dioxide is a significant cause of local air pollution and global warming. Low emissions mean bio-diesel is better suited than traditional diesel for closed environments like sports arenas and mines.
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