Biodiesel—the Clean_ Green Fuel for Diesel Engines by cuiliqing


									   Biodiesel—the Clean, Green Fuel for Diesel Engines
                                                                      however.After all, you probably wouldn’t want to drink a
   What is biodiesel?
                                                                      cup of cooking oil, because it will "lubricate" your digestive
       Natural, renewable resources such as vegetable oils and        tract. Biodiesel is as toxic as table salt, and safe to handle.
   recycled restaurant greases can be chemically transformed          Mechanics who use biodiesel notice that their hands don’t
   into clean-burning biodiesel fuels.As its name implies,            crack and dry out the way they do with diesel fuel. Many
   biodiesel is like diesel fuel except that it’s organically pro-    people use biodiesel in marine environments to protect
   duced. It’s also safe for the environment, biodegradable, and      wildlife and hatcheries.
   produces significantly less air pollution than diesel fuel. It
   even smells better than diesel fuel—it smells like french
   fries, donuts, or barbecue.

   Can I use biodiesel in my vehicle, generator,
   or boat?
       You can use 100% pure biodiesel where you use diesel
                                                                      Does biodiesel reduce air pollution?
   fuel, except during cold weather. During cold weather
                                 biodiesel thickens more than             Very much so. Biodiesel reduces nearly all forms of air
                                 diesel fuel and special systems      pollution. Most importantly, biodiesel reduces air toxics and
What will biodiesel do           are required. Equipment made         cancer-causing compounds. Pure biodiesel can reduce the
to my fuel economy and           before 1993 may have rubber          cancer risks by 94%; B20 will reduce that risk by as much as
power?                           seals in fuel pumps and fuel         27%.There is no sulfur in biodiesel, so biodiesel won’t con-
                                 systems that could fail if 100%      tribute to sulfur dioxide emissions or poison exhaust cata-
Pure biodiesel will              biodiesel is used.You should         lysts. B20 has 20% of the benefits of pure biodiesel. B20 can
reduce your fuel econo-          replace these seals with             also reduce the soot and smell of diesel exhaust.
my and power by 10%.             Viton™ or other non-rubber
In other words, you’ll           seals if you use 100% biodiesel.
need 1.1 gallons of              You can use a blend of 20% or           Emission                     B100                B20
biodiesel for every 1            35% biodiesel with any diesel
gallon of diesel fuel dis-                                               Carbon monoxide              -43.2%            -12.6%
                                 fuel even in old engines with
placed. A 20% blend of           no changes. Just keep an eye            Hydrocarbons                 -56.3%            -11.0%
biodiesel with diesel            on those seals.There are fewer          Particulates                 -55.4%            -18.0%
fuel (B20) should show           cold weather problems with              Nitrous oxides               +5.8%              +1.2%
a 2% reduction on aver-          blends, but you still need to be
age, but we see no                                                       Air toxics              -60%–90%           -12%–20%
                                 aware they could occur.
change most of the               Biodiesel mixes well with               Mutagenicity            -80%–90%                 -20%
time.                            diesel fuel and stays blended
                                 even in the presence of water.
   Diesel fuel blends with biodiesel have superior lubricity,
   which reduces wear and tear on your engine and make the            Does biodiesel reduce greenhouse gases?
   engine components last longer. Biodiesel blends will also
                                                                          Yes. Each year, soybeans and other plants that produce
   clean your fuel system, so keep a couple of spare fuel filters
                                                                      oils used for cooking or making biodiesel draw CO2 from
   handy during the first few weeks after you switch fuels.
                                                                      the atmosphere to build stems, leaves, seeds (which contain
                                                                      the oil), and roots.At the end of the year, the oil used for
   Is biodiesel safe?                                                 biodiesel is burned and the leftover plant material decom-
                                                                      poses, returning the carbon from the fuel and plant matter
       Yes! Biodiesel is made from cooking oils and alcohol, so       to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2).This recycling of
   if you spill it on the ground, it will quickly degrade into nat-   carbon from CO2 in the atmosphere to carbon in plant mate-
   ural organic residues.We don’t recommend you drink it,             rial and back to the atmosphere results in no accumulation
                                                      of CO2 in the atmosphere.
                                                          Therefore, it does not con-        What is biodiesel made of?
                                                            tribute to global climate
                                                              change. Carbon dioxide         Biodiesel can be made from many oils and fats such
                                                               from the petroleum            as soy, canola, tallow, mustard, and restaurant greases.
                         Biodiesel                              fuels used for fertiliz-     DOE does not recognize any blanket claims of one
                         Recycles                               er, farm equipment,          feedstock's superiority over others, since feedstocks
                      Carbon Dioxide                            or transportation dur-       do not reliably predict a fuel's final properties.
                                                               ing biodiesel produc-         Customers should base their specifications on the
                                                              tion accumulates in            fuel's (or blended fuel’s) properties. (This statement has
                                                             the atmosphere year             been revised from a previous printing in April 2000).
                                                           after year.As a result,
                                          biodiesel produces 78%
                                      less CO2 than diesel fuel.
                                 Biodiesel produces 2661 grams of                          How long can I store biodiesel?
         CO2 per gallon, compared to 12,360 grams per gallon for
         petroleum diesel fuel.                                                               About the same length of time as diesel fuel in most cases.
                                                                                           We don’t recommend storing biodiesel longer than 6 months
                                                                                           without storage additives.
         Where can I buy biodiesel or biodiesel blends?
            The biodiesel industry is small, but growing quickly.There
         are seven producers in the United States today. Most biodiesel is                   Fuel Property                      Diesel        Biodiesel
         now sold as B20 to bulk (large) customers such as school bus                        Fuel Standard                    ASTM D975      ASTM PS121
         fleets.Any local petroleum distribution company or biodiesel                        Fuel Composition                 C10-C21 HC    C12-C22 FAME
         producer can deliver B20 to bulk customers. Most communities                        Lower Heating Value, Btu/lb        130,250         120,910
                                                                                             Kin. Viscosity, @ 40°C              1.3-4.1         1.9-6.0
         do not yet have biodiesel fuels available, but we know that
                                                                                             Specific Gravity kg/l @ 60°F         0.85            0.88
         many of you would like to buy it at your local retail station, so                   Density, lb/gal @ 15°C               7.079           7.328
         keep asking and maybe you can make that a reality.                                  Water, ppm by wt.                     161        .05% max
                                                                                             Carbon, wt.%                           87              77
                                                                                             Hydrogen, wt.%                         13              12
         Why aren’t more people using biodiesel?                                             Oxygen, by dif. wt.%                   0               11
                                                                                             Sulfur, wt.%                       .05 max              0
            Biodiesel is very new and, unfortunately, it is slow catching                    Boiling Point °C                 188 to 343      182 to 338
         on because it is expensive. Biodiesel sells for $1.50–$2.25 per                     Flash Point °C                     60 to 80      100 to 170
         gallon wholesale (pre-tax); fuel taxes add another $0.50 per gal-                   Cloud Point °C                     -15 to 5        -3 to 12
         lon. That’s why people prefer B20; it’s less expensive.The U.S.                     Pour Point °C                     -35 to -15      -15 to 16
         Department of Energy is working with the biodiesel industry to                      Cetane Number                      40 to 55        48 to 60
         reduce the cost of biodiesel to less than $1 per gallon over the                    Autoignition Temperature °C           316
         next 5 years.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will                          Stoichiometric Air/Fuel Ratio,         15           13.8
         soon require refineries to make cleaner (more expensive!)                              wt./wt.
                                                                                             BOCLE Scuff, grams                 3,600           >7,000
         petroleum diesel fuel, so over time, the cost difference between
                                                                                             HFRR, microns                       685             314
         these two fuels will be reduced.

         Are there biodiesel fuel standards?
            Yes.You need to make sure the biodiesel you use meets                          For more information about biodiesel and ongoing
         ASTM PS 121.The producer can provide that information.You                         research, contact:
         can inspect the fuel yourself if it isn’t already blended with                    Nohemi Zerbi, U.S. Department of Energy
         diesel fuel. Make sure there is no water, sediment, or thick vis-                 Office of Fuels Development
         cous layers on the bottom. If you suspect any problems, send a                    202-586-1480
         sample to a laboratory for testing.The National Biodiesel Board
         can recommend an appropriate laboratory.                                          K. Shaine Tyson, National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
                                                                                           Renewable Diesel Project, 303-275-4616, or

             NT OF                    Produced for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)                           Printed with a renewable-source ink on
           ME      EN
                                      by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory,                               paper containing at least 50% wastepaper,



                                      a DOE national laboratory.                                                 including 20% postconsumer waste.
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