Biodiesel does not contain petroleum, but can be blended at any level with pet­roleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend, which can then be used in traditional diesel engines. Biodiesel was not intended to replace petroleum; in fact, it is one of several alternative fuels designed to extend the usefulness of petroleum, and the longevity and cleanliness of diesel engines.

What are the benefits of using biodiesel?

• Biodiesel can be produced from a variety of biomass, so we are not dependent on only one source.

• The biomass must be grown close to the production plant. The “home-grown” production reduces a country’s dependency on foreign energy imports.

• Biodiesel can reduce net carbon dioxide levels by 60-80%, depending on catalysts, filters, and so on.

• Biodiesel can reduce carbon monoxide by 40-50%.

• Biodiesel can reduce the emissions of sulfates — a major cause of acid rain.

• Biodiesel is a “drop-in” fuel — no modifications are required to traditional diesel engines.

• Biodiesel is biodegradable and non-toxic.

• With oil and gas spills the environment is greatly damaged. If a biodiesel spill occurs, it does not harm the environment, and it is less costly to repair the damage and clean everything up.

• Blended with fossil fuel diesel, biodiesel provides a near similar horsepower, torque, and fuel mileage.

• As a lubricant, it extends the engine’s lifetime.

• Since biodiesel is a “domestic” fuel, it creates jobs.

Communities with the foresight to create local biodiesel production and dis­tribution programs will see the benefits quickly in their local economies, from the farmers growing the feedstock to local businesses producing and distributing the fuel to the end consumers. The money remains in the community, while at the same time helping the local environment and increasing energy security.

Energy security is becoming a hot topic around the world, both in governments as well as society in general, with nearly every country in the world depending on imports of some of kind of fossil fuel energy, such as oil, coal, and natural gas. This dependency puts countries at great risk if the supply of affordable energy suddenly ends, like in the case with Libya; without fuel for transportation, energy to run power plants and factories, and so on, this could bring a country to its knees.

Biodiesel can improve energy security in several ways:

• Domestic energy crops: a country can grow domestic biofuel crops. This can contribute greatly to reducing the country’s dependency on foreign oil supplies.

• Increased refining capacity: factories dedicated to the production of biodiesel add to the overall domestic refining capacity, eliminating the need to import expensive finished products.

• These new factories also create thousands of much-needed jobs.

• Dispersed biodiesel production plants present a much more difficult target for terrorists than large centralized oil refineries or pipelines used in the petroleum industry.

Figure 2.3 shows that the average biodiesel emissions compared to diesel are much lower. B100 means 100% biodiesel and B20 means a blend of 80% ordinary diesel with 20% biodiesel. You can see that the emissions of sulfates are zero, when B100 is used.

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