Why Biodiesel Fuel?

By Mike Cubert

It doesn't take a war to show us that our dependence on foreign oil has us skating on very thin ice. Biodiesel fuel is an alternative that subverts this need. It is an energy alternative with a proven track record and with the evidence numerous conclusive government and scholarly studies under its belt. Biodiesel production is well underway in many parts of the country (Indiana, in fact, just built its 3rd biodiesel fuel plant), and it can be used immediately in any conventional diesel engine with absolutely no modifications necessary. This is just the tip of the iceberg (skate all you want – this ice is as thick as it gets); the benefits of biodiesel fuel are wide and varied.

It only takes a glance at a single statistic to begin to understand why making the transition to biodiesel fuel seems almost a necessity to survive and flourish in the coming years - over 50% of the oil America uses today is imported and it looks like that figure is only going to increase drastically over time.

According to the Transportation Energy Database, domestic production of oil will taper off at about 8 million barrels per day while our usage swells from around 16 million barrels per day now to somewhere around 22 million barrels in just the next 20 years. At that point, imported oil will account for almost two-thirds of domestic consumption. How expensive do you think gas prices will be then?

A 1996 estimate of the true costs of foreign oil determined that $61 billion was being spent annually, between the military costs for securing the oil and oil-related foreign tax credits alone. As a direct result, for every billion of these dollars, 10,000 to 25,000 Americans with jobs in the industry, lost them.

In the meantime, if the demand for soy-based biodiesel fuel in the United States increased by 200 million gallons annually, U.S. farmers would increased their revenues by $300 million net.

Biodiesel fuel became, in 2000, the country's first and only alternative fuel to have passed the rigorous Tier I and II health effects tests required by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as described in the Clean Air Act. The summary analysis of the tests declared conclusively that biodiesel fuel, reducing significantly almost all emissions currently regulated (and some not regulated too), does not pose any threat to human health

In "A Comprehensive Analysis of Biodiesel Impacts on Exhaust Emissions", a 2003 EPA analysis of 80 scientifically-conducted biodiesel fuel emission studies, including those from both the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture, found that using biodiesel fuel in place of petroleum-based diesel in an unmodified fuel tank will reduce the following emissions by the following amounts:

Total Unburned Hydrocarbons: 67%
Carbon Monoxide: 48%
Particulate Matter: 47%
Sulfates: 100%
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH): 80%
Nitrated PAH (nPAH): 90%
Ozone potential or speciated Hydrocarbons: 50%

Carbon Monoxide, Sulfates, and Particulate Matter are all classified as "air pollutants" under the Clean Air Act. The compounds PAH and nPAH are reported to have carcinogenic properties, all the more reason to minimize their presence in the air we breathe.

What's more, carbon dioxide emissions with biodiesel fuel had a 78% life cycle decrease. This means that, taking into account the entire process of growing, harvesting, processing, and transporting petroleum-based diesel and biodiesel fuel released 78% less CO2 into the atmosphere. Why is this important Because, according to the scientific community, carbon dioxide is believed to be the one of biggest contributors to global warming.

The life cycle of biodiesel fuel has what's called a "positive energy balance" meaning that for every unit of energy that goes into making biodiesel, more energy (in this case 3.24 units) is created.

Biodiesel fuel is safer to handle, store, use, and transport than conventional diesel gasoline because it's much less combustible, its flash point higher than 150°C as opposed to 77°C for conventional diesel. Because biodiesel fuel doesn't require any engine modifications be done to a conventional diesel engine before it'll work, it can replace petroleum-based diesel gasoline right away. No pipelines need to be laid, no drilling and exploration necessary. No new infrastructure need be built at all to accommodate an immediate switch to biodiesel fuel.

And you don't have to look far to find it either. Sure, if you'd like to set up your own homemade biodiesel production facility at home, you certainly can do it with very little trouble, but you can also find numerous places selling biodiesel fuel. You'd be surprised – your nearest biodiesel fuel vendor could be right around the corner.

Biodiesel is clean, renewable, cheap and becoming popular. The best part is that it's very easy to make it at home. Visit our biodiesel making section for how to information.