Biodiesel: How It's Made, Environmental Impact, Where to Find a Fueling Station, and More

If biodiesel were available in my area i would use it.But in my area it is not.I would love to see a biodiesel pump next to regular diesel at the pump.Even if you put it in a separate tank like they do kerosene at most gas stations.It would be an improvement.I would proably get it in bulk with the rest of my fuel.

There are some other issues with biodiesel. Many people have reported that when using B100, they get gas tank delaminations and other associated corrosion problems, although my understanding is that B20 generally avoids this issue. If you could, please research this and update the post.

It would be great to see this article include some information about the downside of biodiesel; that is, production methods being used in south east Asia, South America and elsewhere, where forest is being logged and burned to make way for plantations to produce biodiesel and peasants are being forced off their land by bio-fuel producers.

has anyone integrated bio-diesel pump station locations into GPS yet? Granted many built-in GPS enabled cars probably dont run on diesel, but I imagine a third party vendor like Garmin could do it--you could even plan road trip routes according to bioD pumps.

I want a biodiesel vehicle just so I can make a tank-full of bacon-fat biodiesel.

I'll have a huge sticker on the back of my ride that says "POWERED BY BACON".

Just the thought of it brings a tear to my eye...

I think a better resource might be www.nearbio.com for fueling sites- it has more listed, and you can (supposedly) output to a GPS. And they launched a new map feature which is mediocre at best, but could help spawn a really feasible integration with Google Maps where you type in your start and end location and you get all the maps along your best route. Now that is what I'd like to see.

Most reports seem to say that it does reduce CO2, Particulate Matter (PM), and SO2, but that in general the emissions of NOx are the same or even higher. Many cities are under nonattainment for ozone, and NOx is their primary concern here, so it's just something to consider. The big "anti-biodiesel" report is from Pimentel at Berkeley, to which there are many rebuttals, and in general the US government is pretty favorable of it and there are some good incentives in place to help spur production plants.

Brian, my understanding is that the engine can run just fine on biodiesel (and actually it lubricates the engine, so it is arguably good for it), but that some of the tubes/hoses/seals might corrode if you are running high blends over time. If that's the case, it might be worth looking into swapping out some of these components, but I agree that I have also heard B20 should be okay.

For disclosure, I've just been doing research in this area this summer but haven't actually ever run a truck on biodiesel, so I'm kind of going off of research and discussions with folks that have...

Ken Z: Bio-diesel is a solvent and actually cleans off all the gunk left by petroleum diesel. So, if a car has been using petroleum diesel, then switches to bio-diesel, the gunk ends up clogging fuel filters. Typically, when switching to biodiesel, replace the fuel filter after a few tank fulls. From then on, even if switching between petroleum and bio, or mixing, there isn't a problem. And your fuel tank is clean.

Also, older cars that use certain kinds of rubber fuel hoses need to be upgraded to newer ones. Cars from 1995 onward are generally bio-diesel ready. But best to check with your local shop.

I also hear using up to B20 does not cause this cleansing, and therfore does not clog anything up.

Bio fuels require alot of free land.
As the population grows you may have
to choose between fuel & food.

Hi Folks,

Two items I wanted to comment on:

1) We improved the Route Wizard so it is now integrated
with Google maps and is really a neat world-class
route analyzer!

2) We want to work with Garmin, TomTom, etc. and get
biofuel locations integrated into the devices, but they
haven't responded to queries. If you are a customer, it
might help to provide them feedback about your interest
in this area.

thanks!
-Lisa/NearBio

Actually, the two major goals for biodiesel is to have it domestically produced which would wean us off foreign dependence for fuel and reduce CO2 emissions from a renewable resource.

Biodiesel produced from soybean or canola is typically from US farmers. In fact, one of my clients is a farmer from Ritzville, WA, and was telling me that she grows canola as a part of her normal crop rotation as it acts as a natural weed blocker.

As for foreign countries in Asia and South America, they do have a tendency to cut down rainforests and push people off their own land to grow the plants used for bio fuel production. That being said, that is typically a common occurence in countries that do not have good environmental laws in place (if any) and what few laws they have, typically aren't enforced.

Add to the fact that domestically produced biodiesel gives money to our farmers rather than oil sheiks, use of a high blend biodiesel (i.e. B99 or B100) reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80%. That being said, the one downside to emissions of biodiesel is it while it does put out significantly less CO2, it does emit more NOx which contributes to smog formation. However, there is work being done to change the way diesel engines operate on biodiesel so future models will emit little NOx.

The rest of the world is definitely farther ahead of us in regards to alternative modes of transportation as well as alternative fuels and it will continue to progress. Biodiesel is not THE answer for the problems, but it is definitely ONE of the best answers we have right now, especially for those of us who drive a fair amount. As they always say, "You can't run until you learn to walk."

The waste stream of vegetable oil in the United States is huge. I wonder how many gallons a day. At any rate, using the available supply that currently is going to waste seems like a logical first step for boosting production, not growing food crops.

I found this interesting site on "How to make Biodiesel at home for pennies". This looks like it's a way for the average guy to take matters into his own hands.
http://bio-green.blogspot.com

My company is involved in bio fuels in West Africa. The aim is to sustainably farm a "weed" called Jatropha. This will create a lot of jobs and will not deplete the food supply and it actually imporves the soil degradation. Jatropha is poisonous to animals and easy to grow and not susceptible to drought, disease, etc. It is highly efficient and clean burning. Please spread the word about Jatropha. www.jatropha.org

If you are looking for biodiesel, try

www.nearbio.com

its a great website with every single little biodiesel place in the country! last fall i traveled to charleston, sc and with the help of nearbio.com i found this church organ store that sold biodiesel out back, it was a bit weird but my passat TDI loves biodiesel and so do i!

nearbio.com- travel eco-friendly!

Readers of this might be interested in something we are doing at Keene State College: collecting used grease locally, processing it locally into B-100, and then using that locally in city and college vehicles. We just won a P3 award from the EPA for the program.

There's more on this, including some video of project participants talking about how the system works
here.

(I work for Keene State College, and stuff like this makes me proud I do.)

I've been driving a 2004 VW Jetta TDI on 100% Biodiesel and now 99.9% biodiesel since 2004. After 100,000 miles, I've had no problems with my car after the initial fuel filter change that was needed when I first switched over (due to cleaning out the diesel deposits from the engine and fuel system).
It gives me a great feeling of freedom to have a choice not to contribute to the many problems associated with petrol use. My personal dream is to raise enough cash to open a biofuel station in my home town. I have to drive 15 miles now to fill up but to me it is worth it.

Biofuels made directly from conventional agricultural crops are losers (Note the weasel words, please).

Of all agriculturally based biofuels, ONLY those made from previously used materials like cooking oil represent any step forward at all.

Here's why --

The BEST plant there is for biofuel applications in the U S is CORN (maize), grown in the "corn Belt". However, it is pretty POOR. It can capture but seven-tenths of one percent of the radiant energy it receives from the sun, averaged on an annual basis. It does this at the expense of huge amounts of water, great quantities of petrofertilizers and lots of farm labor. These last are usually not accounted for in Press Releases.

In contrast, photovoltaic (PV), (light-to-electricity converters) run typically at 10%. This is steadily improving. Thus, corn requires 21 times more space -- and its hard to place a building under a corn field.

Presently, the first objection is no sun, no energy. Not good much longer, because new devices will produce hydrogen or alcohol, the last being easy to store or will store electricity within themselves.

The second objection is cost : This will fade as the nation shifts to solar energy from Arizona.

You do not wish the clutter our landscape with solar collectors ? Put them to sea on large platforms (mile-scale).

In short : Forget AGRICULTURALLY based bioenergy. It only raises the cost of food and the income in the Corn Belt.

i read that biodiesel can be used without modifying the engine. I want to know about the research about that or more information about that. thank you.

i read that biodiesel can be used without modifying the engine. I want to know about the research about that or more information about that. thank you.

i read that biodiesel can be used without modifying the engine. I want to know about the research about that or more information about that. thank you.

Hi everyone ...

Just wanted to let you know that another source for biodiesel locations on a clickable, movable Google map is AltFuelPrices.com. Currently the site lists over 1300 biodiesel locations throughout the US.

Hope you find it useful!
Cheers,
Todd

Hello,
I am a student at Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, California and I was wondering if it would be alright if I used one of your pictures. I would use the picture for a project in my biotechnology class. We are participating in the Teen Biotech Challenge. Here is the website if you have any concern:
http://teenbiotechchallenge.ucdavis.edu/
If you could please email me your respone at lisettee5@yahoo.com it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You.

Biodiesel runs seamlessly in a deisel engine except if you have rubber hoses. These can be replaced with polyurethane. I run my 2005 VW Jetta on BioDiesel and have for several years.

Were did you get your information on corn being the best crop for BioDiesel Allen? That isn't even remotely true. Soy is much better, nut crops, rapeseed (cannola) and even better algae, are much better crops. Please stop talking out of turn on subjects you don't really understand.

IMHO Jatropha curcas is the best source of Biodiesel. The plant will not grow in the midwest where we get most of our food crops. A hard freeze will kill the plant. However south Texas where you cannot grow food is ideal for Jatropha curcas cultivation. The kernel of Jatropha curcas seed is 80% oil with very little glycerin. An acre of Jatropha curcas can produce up to 1000 gal of Biodiesel a year - twice that if irrigation is available as the crop only takes 5 months to produce.

The answers are out there, we just need to stop sitting on our hands and make it work.

To answer the question of how much oil different crops produce per acre here is a chart

Crop........................US gal per acre

corn.........................18
cashew nut.............19
oats.........................23
lupine.......................25
kenaf.......................29
calendula.................33
cotton......................35
hemp.......................39
soybean..................48
coffee ....................49
linseed.....................51
hazelnuts.................51
euphorbia................56
pumpkin seed..........57
coriander.................57
mustard seed..........61
camelina..................62
sesame...................74
safflower...............83
rice.........................88
tung oil tree............100
sunflowers............102
cocoa.....................110
peanuts..................113
opium poppy..........124
rapeseed...............127
olives.....................129
castor beans.........151
pecan nuts............191
jojoba....................194
jatropha................202
macadamia nuts...240
brazil nuts............255
avocado...............282
coconut................287
oil palm.................635

I like the chart of oil per acre. are all of these usable for fuels?I could cee tung oil, olive oil, even coconut oil (though that isn't viscous enough) but poppy?? poppy seed oil I guess. which of those listed would be the least expensive and the most viscous to use in the engine? What about fuel prices? the biodiesel I've seen is the same price (or higher) as petro diesel. My guess peanut oil. It's relatively cheap (as opposed to the ones higher on the list) and doesn't solidify ant room temp (as cocoa, coconut and palm oils do)
thoughts??

Used restaurant grease has become so valuable people are stealing it left and right around here.

Local company here uses soybean oil and their B99 is almost $6/gallon.

New facility in Grays Harbor just outside Hoquiam uses imported palm oil and a Republican state rep in Olympia wants to ban the import to "save the Indonesian rainforest." Uh hum....

The Fats/Oils/Grease (FOG) from cooking are not waste. They are used in their entirety if collected by a reprocessor. I always get a kick out of thinking that super expensive face cream has waste oil from my local greasy spoon in it!

I run bio-diesel when I can afford it. No mods to my '81 VW Rabbit engine. Mileage is a bit lower, emissions much more pleasant.

Our local trash company runs hundreds of trucks exclusively on B-5. We have B-5, B-20 and B99 at several pumps here in the county. B-5 is the most prevalent thanks to the demand from the trash trucks - even tho they only account for about 42% of the total B-5 purchased.

I hear lots about the older Mercedes diesels. Cheap and plentiful in some areas. Supposed to be pretty much a solid little tank. Check out Greaseworks and GreaseCar. Playboy had an article on biodiesel last year and they highlighted LoveCraft. See also Green Car Company.

DO NOT run straight waste vegetable oil in your diesel. It's changed by the cooking process. Even if you filter it to 5 microns it's got issues. Lots of folks say otherwise but I'm not convinced and I don't like working on my car. Mix it with diesel/biodiesel or make biodiesel.

Thanks for the chart on oil plants, was that out of the book From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank?

And now I'm off to figure out how to hybridize my '81VW diesel powered '88 Suzuki Samurai. Mother Earth News did this way back in the early eighties with a pickup, a diesel generator and a pile of golf cart batteries and they showed you how to do it in the few pages of the article. Hmmmm.....

Everyone is so busy thinking of what they've seen on a farm. Applying the farm production model is fine if you have people interested in doing the job of harvesting, planting, irrigating etc., etc.. And if paying farm hands $40K/yr. to do it sounds like a good idea, the farm it is.

The fact remains that algae is the single fastest growing, oil producing and carbon sequestering organism with bio-fuel potential on Earth. At SCIPIO Biofuels, we have the technology, the know-how and the motivation. We're only lacking financial backing for our photobioreactor systems/facilities.

Matt S
Founder
SCIPIO Biofuels

Biodiesel is not a perfect solution. No type of fuel-no matter how clean, cheap, or available it is- is going to solve all our power and transportation problems. It's not just about stopping our dependence on foreign oil, or fossil fuels in general; we need to stop our crippling dependency on our cars and electronics.

PUT BIODIESEL IN OKC!!!

Is algae bio-diesel a more efficient form? Especially with the argument that vegetable bio-diesel especially those that are a derivative of corn are essentially contributing to the hunger problems throughout the world? If, so does anyone provide a little more information on algae bio-diesel?

It might take a while for plantations to catch up with the need for more biodiesel productions.

As of now, the food vs fuel debate is still a very hot topic - and hopefully, the situation will improve with time.

I cant wait to see biofuel take hold worldwide. I truly think that it is one of the best forms of renewable energy available. I also think methane gas will be the next fuel that takes hold in the farming communities.

The only mention of hemp seed oil was on May 20, 2008 7:42 PM thanks to Dan. However, it was buried in a list showing it to be inferior to other sources of biodiesel based on gallons per acre. The diesel engine was in fact originally designed to run on seed oils such as hemp: http://www.crrh.org/cannabis/industrial.html
What makes it a particularly great resource is that the entire plant is incredibly useful - foods high in essential fatty acids, fabrics, paper, building materials. A very green growing point is that it requires no chemical pesticides or fertilizers and when tilled under after harvest it refurbishes the soil.

One of the major problems with the expansion of the biodiesel market is that the hoses that are used throughout the distribution network from the refinery to the consumer's auto has to be replaced with much more expensive hoses designed for biodiesel usage. My sources tell me that anyone handleing or consuming concentrations greater than 5% bio will start having problems with their hoses in a noticeably short period of time. Although B20 (20% bio) doesn't present any problems with the engine it will deterioate the hose and the higher the percentage of bio the faster it will occur.

So this is why the lower concentrations of biodiesel are what is being manufactured and marketed and made available to the consumer but as a society we are giving up most of the benefit of the renewable fuel supply due to the very expensive cost of replacing the hoses. I say expensive because the distributor that has to buy the extremly high priced hose that is compatiable and won't degrade from the biodiesel would be such an extreme cost on the distributor that they would prefer to sell the lower concentrations of biodiesel. Prices on a tank truck hose would be more like $6000 for a 20 ft section instead of $200.

So what is the answer? Settle for saving 5% of the fossiI fuel? Or try to fix the problem so we can move to a 50% or even a 100% renewable fuel? I am a veteran rubber chemist and I own a rubber company. I have designed a process to manufacture this hose for biodiesel usage at any concentration! This is not new as there are hoses that are available that will do that now but only for small diameter hose and at 25 times the cost of current hose. My product although a little more expensive is only about $350 for a 20 ft section of hose that would cost $200 for standard hose or for $6000 you could buy the other biodiesel compatiable hose.

My manufacturing plant for this hose was planned to open mid 2009 but with the current financial situation of the economy these plans has been pushed back until financing is more readily available but we will have this product on the market in the near future. So rest assured that there is someone that is working on this issue and the real issue isn't that people aren't using biodiesel its that the distributors can't get the consumers the product at higher concentrations of bio and still be priced competitive with standard diesel.

Johnathan Posey

The sooner car manufacturers stop charging premium prices for greener cars the better. As the credit crunch continues, people are not looking to spend the extra funds for a green car.

Many are interested in using biofuels, but again are put off having a conversion due to the initial cost. Maybe the government should help more by offering bigger incentives.

We really believe that in future many small companies will create biodiesel fuel stations in their cities, filling biodiesel of their own production.
Equipment is safe and stable, so I see no technical broblems here.
Just catch your time to start new strong business in grouwing market.

Please go to www.wiscnews.com/wde to archives for 1/7/09. There is a local restauranteer who HAS BEEN making his own 'diesel bio-bugs' for a couple of years. No glory or fame or talkshows. Mark Schmitz started turning the restaurants(2) used vegetable oil into feul that he uses to feul his pizza delivery VW's. The exhaust smells of french fries. He makes the feul himself in his garage. He quietly just took things into his own hands and is taking care of business. He didn't wait for 'someone' to deliver autos to him. . We know that the oil barrons will not ever let it become apparent that we can easily live without EVER using fossil feuls again. Nor will car companies make fossil feuls archiac by making alternative energy engines--they'd rather close down business or pretend to be way behind China and India in 'inventing' a car for the future. That'd be suicide. The oil barrons trump everything!