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Biodiesel
Biodiesel is is a petrol-diesel substitute, produced from vegetable oil. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. Biodiesel is biodegradable and nontoxic. Biodiesel is considered to be a renewable energy because it is produced from plants, a renewable resource.
Transesterification (or the process of separation of glycerin and oil) of vegetable oils has been in use since the mid-1800's. Any source of complex fatty acid can be used to create biodiesel and glycerin. Peanut oil, hemp oil, corn oil, and tallow have been successfully used as sources. Currently, soybeans, rapeseed (canola oil), corn, recycled fryer oil, tallow, forest wastes, and sugar cane are common resources for biofuels. Research is being done into oil production from algae, which could have yields greater than any feedstock known today. The by-product of glycerin can be used in soaps and cosmetics.
In 1898, when Rudolph Diesel first demonstrated his compression ignition engine at the World's Exhibition in Paris, he used peanut oil - the original biodiesel. Vegetable oils were used in diesel engines until the 1920's when modifications were made to the engines so they could run on the cheaper petrol-diesel.
Biodiesel fuel is available in every state in the US, however it is not nearly as common as petrol-diesel. To find a retailer check out www.biodiesel.org.
The benefits of biodiesel are many including significant emissions reduction, it is carbon neutral, in other words, it does not add additional CO2 to the air, and it biodegrades faster than sugar and is less toxic than table salt. It reduces dependence on foreign oil, provides superior lubricating properties and contains no sulfur.
A few of the disadvantages of biodiesel are that it is not available everywhere, it costs more per gallon than petrol-diesel, and in cold climates the fuel doesn't flow as easily.
Biodiesel is a good starting point in the world's move toward renewable energy, it provides many benefits and is better for the environment than our current petrol-based fuels.
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