Conservation

What is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a fuel made from vegetable oil that runs in any unmodified diesel engine. Biodiesel can be made from any vegetable oil including oils pressed straight from the seed (virgin oils) such as soy, sunflower, canola, coconut and hemp. Biodiesel can also be made from recycled cooking oils from fast food restaurants. While biodiesel may sound like something from the movie “Back to the Future,” its use dates back over 100 years to the invention of the diesel engine

Biodiesel Benefits 

1) Biodiesel runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine. No engine modifications are necessary to use biodiesel and there is no “engine conversion.” In other words, “you just pour it into the fuel tank.”

2) Biodiesel reduces our need for foreign oil and reduces the amount of environmental degradation that accompanies oil extraction.  

3) Biodiesel reduces Carbon Dioxide emissions, the primary cause of the Greenhouse Effect, by up to 100%. Since biodiesel comes from plants and plants breathe carbon dioxide, there is no net gain in carbon dioxide from using biodiesel.

4) Biodiesel can be used alone or mixed in any amount with petroleum diesel fuel. A 20% blend of biodiesel with diesel fuel is called “B20,” a 5% blend is called “B5” and so on.

5) Biodiesel is more lubricating than diesel fuel, it increases the engine life and it can be used to replace sulfur, a lubricating agent that, when burned, produces sulfur dioxide - the primary component in acid rain. Instead of sulfur, all diesel fuel sold in France contains 5% biodiesel.

6) Biodiesel is safe to handle because it is biodegradable and non-toxic. According to the National Biodiesel Board, “neat biodiesel is as biodegradable as sugar and less toxic than salt.”

7) Biodiesel fuel yields 220% more energy than is required to produce it, including all the energy used in the agriculture, transportation and distribution. This occurs because the feedstock crop collects solar energy and transforms it into the biodiesel feedstock oil

8) Biodiesel has a pleasant aroma similar to popcorn popping in comparison to the all-too-familiar stench of petroleum diesel fuel.