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Biodiesel Primer

Overview

Diesel makes up 30% of the ground transportation fuel consumed in the U.S. Diesel fuel can now be made at a lower cost using vegetable oil than using petroleum. This fuel is called biodiesel, which is also better for humans, the environment and diesel engines. At 66 million gallons, biodiesel made up just one-fifth of one percent of the $151 billion in diesel fuel consumed in the U.S. in 2005. Biodiesel production in the U.S. and abroad is expected to grow dramatically in the years ahead.

What is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a fuel produced from renewable resources like vegetable oil rather than petroleum and can be used in its pure form or blended with conventional diesel fuel made from petroleum (petrodiesel). Biodiesel can run in any vehicle that can run on petrodiesel with few or no modifications.

Benefits of biodiesel over petrodiesel

Better for humans and the environment. Biodiesel is made from renewable resources, burns more cleanly, is biodegradable, nontoxic, and not considered a hazardous material when spilled, produces fewer hazardous emissions when burned, and is essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. It decomposes faster than sugar, and many say that it even smells good.

The use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in a substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter compared to emissions from diesel fuel. The exhaust emissions of sulfur oxides and sulfates (major components of acid rain) from biodiesel are essentially eliminated compared to diesel.

Of the major exhaust pollutants, both unburned hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides are ozone or smog forming precursors. The use of biodiesel results in a substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons. Emissions of nitrogen oxides are either slightly reduced or slightly increased depending on the duty cycle of the engine and testing methods used. The overall ozone (smog) forming potential of the hydrocarbon exhaust emissions from biodiesel is nearly 50 percent less than that measured for diesel fuel.

Biodiesel is the best greenhouse gas mitigation strategy for today’s medium and heavy duty vehicles. Biodiesel reduces net carbon dioxide emissions by 78 percent compared to petroleum diesel. This is due to biodiesel’s closed carbon cycle: the CO² released into the atmosphere when biodiesel is burned is recycled by growing plants, which are later processed into fuel.

Biodiesel exhaust has a less harmful impact on human health than petrodiesel. Pure biodiesel emissions have decreased levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrited PAH compounds that have been identified as potential cancer causing compounds. Also, particulate matter, an emission linked to asthma and other diseases, is reduced by about 47 percent, and carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, is reduced by about 48 percent.

Biodiesel is registered as a fuel and fuel additive with the Environmental Protection Agency and meets clean diesel standards established by the California Air Resources Board. B100 (100 percent) biodiesel has been designated as an alternative fuel by the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Safer to manufacture and handle. Designed properly and using the right processing technologies, the manufacturing process for biodiesel is safe, simple and straightforward. Biodiesel is also safer to transport and use, primarily as a result of its higher flashpoint (i.e., the temperature at which it will ignite).

Better for engines. Biodiesel has long been used as a premium additive to petrodiesel to improve engine performance and durability. Biodiesel has a greater lubricity, reducing wear on engines and extending their life, and acts as a mild solvent, releasing deposits accumulated on tank walls and pipes from previous diesel fuel usage. The release of deposits may end up in fuel filters initially, so fuel filters should be checked more frequently at first.

Can use domestic feedstocks. Domestically produced feedstocks can be used to produce biodiesel rather than relying on imported feedstocks like crude oil. Every gallon of biodiesel produced using domestic resources reduces the $250 billion the U.S. pays other countries each year for its crude oil.

Control over feedstock supplies. Biodiesel is made from renewable resources that can be grown when and where needed. Biodiesel can also use a variety of feedstocks, such as soybean oil, rapeseed/canola oil, palm oil, waste vegetable oil, and animal tallow.

Cheaper to manufacture. It has recently become less expensive to produce biodiesel than petrodiesel, primarily as a result of higher petroleum crude oil prices, increased petrodiesel refining costs, increased agricultural productivity, and improvements in biodiesel processing technology.

Biodiesel incentives and mandates. International and domestic federal and state governments and agencies offer biodiesel incentives and/or have mandates. The U.S. federal government, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection agency, at least 31 states, and at least 16 foreign countries offer biodiesel incentives and/or have biodiesel mandates.

How biodiesel is made

Conventional method. Most biodiesel is made in batches by mixing vegetable oil with methanol and sodium hydroxide at high temperatures, letting the mixture settle, separating the process outputs into biodiesel, glycerin and “soap,” washing the biodiesel in water, and finally removing the water from the cleaned biodiesel. The entire process typically takes between 90 minutes to more than 24 hours.

Kreido Laboratories’ STT^® method. Kreido’s technology is a continuous, waterless process that operates at near room temperature and takes less than one second to complete. Compared to conventional processors, STT^®-based biodiesel processors take up one-tenth the space, cost half as much to build, can be built in half the time, are safer to operate, are better for the environment, and have lower production costs.

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Sources: U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration; U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service; National Biodiesel Board; The Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; Methanol Institute; U.S. Department or Agriculture Farm Bill Forum Comment Summary & Background; Biodiesel Magazine; and Kreido Laboratories.