Biodiesel the Alternative Diesel Fuel

In today’s society, there is a dire need to reduce toxic pollution from automobiles and other petroleum sources. My education is focused toward ecological responsibility in our transportation industry. Who would have ever thought we have pollution so bad it burns your eyes in a city park? Health concerns from noxious particulate (soot) exhaust emissions, and the ongoing oil war in Iraq is contributing factors of our need to employ alternative fuels into our infrastructure. Biodiesel is known to reduce the harmful effects of global warming by limiting the toxic greenhouse gasses produced from automobiles. Consolidated studies conducted by the EPA and USDA reveal a 78% reduction in CO2 emissions is expected while using biodiesel as compared to petroleum diesel fuel currently in use today.
Back in early times, Rudolph Diesel invented and patented the first diesel engine in 1898 to use peanut oil as fuel. He envisioned an engine design that can operate on a variety of combustible fuels. Petroleum diesel fuel soon replaced vegetable oil as a cheap alternative that become the industry standard as we know it today. Modern engines are designed to operate on a lighter petroleum product then straight vegetable oil (SVO) that is not a practical fuel in modern engine designs. This is where biodiesel becomes a contributing factor as part of the solution to our energy crisis.
What is biodiesel and how is it made? Biodiesel is a direct replacement of diesel fuel, one of which is safe and effective to power your engine without modification; biodiesel is also accepted in many countries worldwide as an alternative fuel source. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil and animal fats through a chemical process known as transesterification by chemically altering the base oils with a catalyst and methanol. Biodiesel is not a mixture of vegetable oil and alcohol, the fuel produced is no longer oil; biodiesel becomes a chemical known as fatty acid methyl esters. During transesterification, a viscous soap based glycerin is produced and must be removed from biodiesel before it may be used. Minerals and other contaminants must be washed from biodiesel to prolong engine life by removing undesirable contaminants.
A portion of commercial biodiesel is made from recycled cooking oil collected from restaurants, while the remaining biodiesel is made from virgin oils. Recycling our waste oil into a useable fuel source is beneficial to our environment, in addition to a reduction of crude oil imports. When diesel fuel was around a dollar a gallon, there was little if any motivation to seek an alternative fuel source. Now that #2 fuel oil is $3.50 per gallon, everyone wants to have a “grease car” to take advantage of free motor fuel collected at local restaurants. In most cases, the use of SVO (straight vegetable oil) damages automobile engines unless it is converted into a more suitable biodiesel. A normal mix ratio of fifty percent is recommended to prevent drivability problems associated between the engine design and the modified fuel, biodiesel at the pump ranges from five to twenty percent by volume. These numbers are low but some vehicle manufactures are not sold on the idea of using biodiesel and will not warrantee their engines when higher concentrations of biodiesel are used.
Heat output of biodiesel is slightly less than a comparable petroleum diesel fuel; the higher oxygen content in biodiesel actually increases the power output. Technical details need to be better understood by consumers before making a determination of the practical applications of this new fuel, many consumers are resistant to change with the times and have no interest in new technology. Some additional benefit of biodiesel includes virtually no sulfur and toxic chemicals such as benzene, toluene and xylene, and a dramatic reduction of unburnt hydrocarbons common to petroleum diesel fuel. Better lubricity, and a reduction in noxious fumes emitted from diesel engines are definitely improvements over our current diesel fuel. The only concerns to biodiesel are the problems associated with cold weather gelling, these problems occur at higher temperatures requiring a blended fuel during winter months.
Consumers need to take notice of this new technology and consider the benefits to our environment, an improvement to your personal health and support of our local industries. If we can reduce our oil imports by as little as twenty percent from oil produced on our home soil, it will make a phenomenal impact upon our economy. Local farms can produce soybeans and other crops to supply oil to biodiesel production, and recycle the remaining feed stock to benefit livestock production. This is a win-win situation for our local farmers and the energy crisis plaguing our country today.
Biodiesel is not a cure or replacement for our high demand of diesel fuel; it is simply an alternative to reduce our dependence upon foreign oil imports. As health conscience consumes, we need to reduce our use of fossil fuels to clean up the air we breathe and preserve the dwindling supply of crude oil available. Our economy can benefit from producing a portion of the billions of gallons of diesel fuel consumed each year; just imagine how many tons of needless pollution can be prevented from using just 5% biodiesel in trucks and buses each year. Times are changing and as a whole we need to seek and utilize our resources’ more effectively to prolong life on this planet for our future generations.

The editors at cheathouse.com rejected this essay and reported this is a "copied essay." This is my original work from over a year of studies into diesel repair and alternative fuels and it is only published here on my personal website as the author with exclusive rights to copyright.

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