About Biodiesel
What is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is defined as: a fuel comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, designated B100. A "mono-alkyl ester" is the product of the reaction of a straight chain alcohol, such as methanol or ethanol, with a fat or oil (triglyceride) to form glycerol (glycerin) and the esters of long chain fatty acids.
Biodiesel can be used as B 100 (neat) or in a blend with petroleum diesel. A blend of 20 % biodiesel with 80 % petroleum based diesel, by volume, is termed "B 20". A blend of 2 % biodiesel with 98 % petroleum based diesel is "B 2", and so on.
Why Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is a preferred source of fuel for a number of distinct reasons:
- Overall Performance - Diesel fueled transportation vehicles are generally more fuel efficient than gasoline based fuels. Diesel engines get better mileage than gasoline engines for two reasons: diesel fuel contains more energy than gasoline, and a diesel engine injects fuel and air into a combustion chamber at a much higher rate of compression, which makes the fuel burn more efficiently than fuel in a gasoline engine.
According to The Diesel Page, an online web magazine, an average driver can save about $1,500 in fuel costs per 100,000 miles driven when comparing an identical gasoline-powered truck and a diesel-powered truck. If you do a lot of towing, the savings goes up to $2,500 per 100,000 miles. - Environment - Biodiesel fuels have generally the same characteristics as diesel based fuels, but are made from either annually renewable resources, and / or waste animal fats. The production of biodiesel also results in less greenhouse gas emissions - which are leading to Global Climate Change impacts (see graph below)
- Security - Biodiesel is produced from locally grown crops or animal waste products, reducing the need for foreign oil imports. The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) states that energy security is the primary driving force behind the US bio-fuels program. The U.S. uses approximately 20 million barrels of oil a day (or 840,000,000 gallons), more than half of which is imported. Twenty million barrels is enough oil to fill 1,272 Olympic-size swimming pools each day. By 2025, demand is expected to rise to 26 million barrels a day-about 60 percent of which will be imported. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. oil imports have increased by 1100 percent since 1960, while America's own oil production has declined. America spends $232 billion each year-nearly $450,000 every minute-on oil from foreign governments.
Feedstocks
As noted above, feedstocks for biodiesel are all biological in nature and considered renewable resources. They can be based on virgin or recycled vegetable oils, rendered animal fats and waste, and various white and yellow greases - but essentially all sources of biodiesel feedstocks have a lower carbon dioxide footprint than conventional fuels.
Bluegrass BioDiesel has the capability of producing biodiesel from a variety of these feedstock sources - resulting in a high quality, competitively priced biodiesel for the customer.
Standards for Biodiesel
The production of biodiesel in the United States is quality controlled through two types of standards. The first is a product based standard known as ASTM D 6751-08, the second is a quality management system specifically for the production of biodiesel and is known as BQ® 9000
ASTM 6751-08
This standard is for the production of B100 (100 % biodiesel). It was last modified in 2008, to include a specific Cold Soak Filterability test method as a means to predict performance of the biodiesel in cold operating temperatures.
Additional testing with this standard includes but is not limited to the following:
- Water and Sediment level (a measure of overall cleanliness - high water levels and sediment can promote microbial activity in storage)
- Alcohol Content
- Sulfur Content (an indication of contamination of protein material, often from animal rendering)
- Cetane Number (a measure of ignition performance in an engine)
- Cloud Point (a measure of crystal formation, a key issue in cold temperature performance)
- Acid Number (a measure of free fatty acids, which can lead to corrosion)
- Free and Total Glycerin (a potential source of carbon deposits in an engine)
- Flash point (generally a test for residual alcohol)
Bluegrass BioDiesel produces all of its biodiesel products to this rigorous product standard.
For a detailed description of the standard and the full set of test methods, please refer to the ASTM website on our Links page.
BQ9000® The National Accreditation Program. See our Links page for more.
From the BQ 9000® Website
"The National Biodiesel Accreditation Program is a cooperative and voluntary program for the accreditation of producers and marketers of biodiesel fuel called BQ-9000®. The program is a unique combination of the ASTM standard for biodiesel, ASTM D6751, and a quality systems program that includes storage, sampling, testing, blending, shipping, distribution, and fuel management practices.
BQ-9000® helps companies improve their fuel testing and greatly reduce any chance of producing or distributing inadequate fuel. To receive accreditation, companies must pass a rigorous review and inspection of their quality control processes by an independent auditor. This ensures that quality control is fully implemented."
Bluegrass BioDiesel is in the process of becoming a BQ 9000® certified producer of B100 and blended grades of biodiesel.