Is it a viable alternative? What is Biodiesel Biodiesel is a domestically produced, renewable fuel that can be manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant greases. Biodiesel is safe, biodegradable, and reduces serious air pollutants such as particulates, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and air toxins. Straight, or blended with petroleum diesel, biodiesel can be used in unmodified diesel engines. Rudolph Diesel, 1912 The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time. History In 1898, when Rudol ph Di esel fi rst demonstrated hi s compression i gni ti on engi ne at the Worl d's Exhi bi tion i n Pari s, he used peanut oi l - the ori gi nal bi odi esel. Diesel believed biomass fuel to be viable alternative to the resource consuming steam engine. Vegetable oils were used in diesel engines until the 1920's when an alteration was made to the engine, enabling it to use a residue of petroleum - what is now known as diesel #2. Transesterification of vegetable oils has been in use since the mid-1800's. More than likely, it was originally used to distill out the glycerin used for making soap. The "by-products" of this process are methyl and ethyl esters. Biodiesel is composed of these esters. Although the diesel engine gained worldwide acceptance, biodiesel did not. With superior price, availability, and government subsidies, petroleum diesel quickly became the fuel of choice for the diesel engine. Vegetable Oil Molecule Triglyceride 3 Fatty acids (methyl esters) 1 Glycerol What is Biodiesel? Chemi cal l y, bi odi esel mol ecul es are mono-al kyl esters produced usual l y from tri gl yceri de esters Fatty Acid Alcohol Glycerin Vegetabl e Oi l Bi odi esel FA FA FA FA How do you make it? Virgin vegetable oil or waste oil is filtered and then heated to remove water. Top portion of oil is decanted into processor Catalyst (lye) and Methanol are added The mixture is stirred and then allowed to settle Biodiesel is drawn off of the top and glycerin is removed from the bottom The Methanol is reclaimed BIODIESEL: ENVIRONMENT and EMISSIONS Emissions(compared with diesel) B100 B20 Carbon Monoxide -43% -13% Hydrocarbons -56 -11 Particulates -55 -18 Nitrus Oxides +6 +1 Air Toxics -60-90 -12-20 Cancer Risk -94 -27 Mutagenicity -80-90 -20
Bi odi esel contai ns no sul fur Only fuel to pass EPA Clean Air Act A Comprehensive Analysis of Biodiesel Impacts on Exhaust Emissions Based on this analysis, we could reasonably conclude that total toxics are reduced when biodiesel is added to conventional diesel fuel. Life Cycle Analysis From an Energy input perspective these fuels return these amounts of energy Petroleum Diesel: 90% Ethanol: 100% 160% Biodiesel: 280% - 350% Feedstock's Oil Palm African palm Palm oil and palm kernel oil Extracted from fleshy outside Coconut South America and tropical areas Coconut meat is peeled from the husk, dried in the sun, and pressed Jatropha Americas A bush that produces a seed Seed is crushed for oil Rapeseed/ Canola Canada, Germany, Russia colder regions Yellow flowering oil crop Peanut South America warm Sandy soil Sunflower North America Squeezed from seeds Safflower India, Egypt, and Persia Thistle-like plant Yellow/orange flower Soybean East Asia and USA High protein bean Hemp Russia, China, and Asia Illegal to grow in USA Corn Americas Use the oil and grain for food Algae NREL have cultivated algae to produce oil Could provide enough oil to meet all of the diesel fuel needs of the US Source of biodiesel fuel from plants or animals Net Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol and Soybean Biodiesel Environmental effects Fertilizer use Pesticide application Environmental effects of ethanol and biodiesel Greenhouse gases reduced by both relative to gasoline and diesel combustion Current and future biofuels Performance Analysis Biodiesel is interchangeable with #2 fuel in vehicle, generators, home heating Slightly less BTU but higher Cetane Same performance, same mileage Ethanol vehicle needs advanced electronics to optimize electronic ignition on the fly Significantly less BTUs. (70%) Need to burn 30% more fuel to travel same distance Worse performance, worse mileage Cold Weather Issues Food Versus Fuel In the US the feedstock competes with the food chain Most biodiesel comes from soybean Most ethanol comes from corn Both biofuels are heavily subsidized and with out the subsidies and tax credits would not be economically viable they currently arent! Grease Cars Diesel vehicles are modified by adding additional fuel components to all waste vegetable oil (WVO) to be used. The WVO needs to be heated to 160 degrees before it can be used, normally by circulating the engine coolant through a second fuel tank. Running on Grease Bob Morabito, Westchester Countys recycling guru explained; the county is retrofitting 25 additional vehicles to run on vegetable oil. He said, At the end of the year, we accumulate 50,000 gallons of oil, which will now provide a free, clean alternative to diesel fuel. The countys new Veggie Van garishly green on the outside and figuratively green all over. Powered by used vegetable oil, the van is the countys latest effort to use and promote technologies that dont contribute to global warming and do help decrease the nations dependency on foreign oil. To accomplish the transformation, the county Department of Public Works teamed up with V.O.Tech, Diesel/Veggie Oil Fueling Station Perhaps the car of the future? Or perhaps Electric cars Hybrid Gasoline Electric Diesel Electric Electric w/ generator Alternative Fuels E85 Ethanol (85%) and Gasoline (15%) M85 Methanol (85%) and Gasoline (15%) CNG/LPG The Carbon Cycle Contact Information J erry Robock Community Biofuels jrobock@communitybiofuels.com Is Biodiesel a Solution? To what?