Concerns
Biodiesel gels in cold temperatures:
Biodiesel first reaches the cloud point (CP) where some of the molecules in the fuel gather together and form little crystals of wax that can clog the fuel filter. Eventually, as temperatures get colder, around 32°F, the crystals get larger and the biodiesel gels, becoming solid and preventing the fuel from flowing. B100 blend does gel when the temperature of the fuel reaches the freezing point of water. However, petroleum diesel also has the risk of gelling when the fuel reaches freezing temperatures of about 10°F. The truth is that B20 blend and blends below generally do not gel in cold temperatures and there are simple ways to keep biodiesel from gelling altogether.
High Quality Biodiesel
It is important to use "high quality biodiesel that meets the national standard, ASTM D 6751".
Blending biodiesel
Blending biodiesel with kerosene or with diesel that has been treated with cold weather additives (antigels and pour-point depressants) also prevents gelling. One of the most effective cold weather additives is the Wintron range of additives, a pour-point depressant, which are viscosity modifying compounds. These compounds reduce the tendency of viscosity to increase as the fuel is cooled which alters cold temperature crystallization reducing the freezing point, pour point, and cold filter plugging point. Wintron additives lower the cloud point of the fuel by reducing the temperature of which the molecules begin to crystallize keeping the fuel from gelling.
Heating system
To keep the biodiesel in vehicles warm, it is important to store the vehicles indoors and install a special heating system, a block heater which can be plugged in overnight to keep the diesel warm. If the vehicle doesn't have a block heater, putting an incandescent work light under the hood can also keep the fuel warm.
Biodiesel first reaches the cloud point (CP) where some of the molecules in the fuel gather together and form little crystals of wax that can clog the fuel filter. Eventually, as temperatures get colder, around 32°F, the crystals get larger and the biodiesel gels, becoming solid and preventing the fuel from flowing. B100 blend does gel when the temperature of the fuel reaches the freezing point of water. However, petroleum diesel also has the risk of gelling when the fuel reaches freezing temperatures of about 10°F. The truth is that B20 blend and blends below generally do not gel in cold temperatures and there are simple ways to keep biodiesel from gelling altogether.
High Quality Biodiesel
It is important to use "high quality biodiesel that meets the national standard, ASTM D 6751".
Blending biodiesel
Blending biodiesel with kerosene or with diesel that has been treated with cold weather additives (antigels and pour-point depressants) also prevents gelling. One of the most effective cold weather additives is the Wintron range of additives, a pour-point depressant, which are viscosity modifying compounds. These compounds reduce the tendency of viscosity to increase as the fuel is cooled which alters cold temperature crystallization reducing the freezing point, pour point, and cold filter plugging point. Wintron additives lower the cloud point of the fuel by reducing the temperature of which the molecules begin to crystallize keeping the fuel from gelling.
Heating system
To keep the biodiesel in vehicles warm, it is important to store the vehicles indoors and install a special heating system, a block heater which can be plugged in overnight to keep the diesel warm. If the vehicle doesn't have a block heater, putting an incandescent work light under the hood can also keep the fuel warm.
Biodiesel's solvent properties cause leaks in the fuel lines and clogs the engine's fuel filter.
Leaks in fuel lines
Biodiesel solvent properties cause d egradation of natural rubber hoses and gaskets. Generally, B20 blend and blends below do not have this problem. This is typically only an issue in diesel engine vehicles made before 1993. At that time, fuel lines were commonly made from rubber. The solvent properties in biodiesel disintegrate the rubber and sometimes cause leaks in the fuel lines. In these vehicles, biodiesel can still be used but the fuel lines must be monitored for leakage and possibly replaced with vitron fuel lines or other synthetic fuel lines. Current diesel engine vehicles can run on biodiesel without any modifications.
Plugs the fuel filter
Because of the solvent properties in biodiesel, the impurities and deposits of paraffin-based buildup from the petroleum diesel fuel, previously used in the tank, may release from the edges and flow through the fuel lines to the fuel filter. These deposits can then plug the fuel filter. This is generally problematic only when using B100 blend. B20 blend and blends below do not frequently have this problem. The fuel filter can be plugged only when using a fuel tank that previously contained petroleum diesel fuel. To keep this from happening, it is recommended that the fuel filter be replaced before the engine is converted to biodiesel and after a few thousand miles of using biodiesel until the fuel system is cleaned of the deposits left from the petroleum diesel. In summary, biodiesel acts as a fuel system cleaner, cleaning injectors, fuel pump, fuel tank, and fuel lines of the contaminants that petroleum diesel leaves. In the long run, this creates fewer problems for the engine.
Leaks in fuel lines
Biodiesel solvent properties cause d egradation of natural rubber hoses and gaskets. Generally, B20 blend and blends below do not have this problem. This is typically only an issue in diesel engine vehicles made before 1993. At that time, fuel lines were commonly made from rubber. The solvent properties in biodiesel disintegrate the rubber and sometimes cause leaks in the fuel lines. In these vehicles, biodiesel can still be used but the fuel lines must be monitored for leakage and possibly replaced with vitron fuel lines or other synthetic fuel lines. Current diesel engine vehicles can run on biodiesel without any modifications.
Plugs the fuel filter
Because of the solvent properties in biodiesel, the impurities and deposits of paraffin-based buildup from the petroleum diesel fuel, previously used in the tank, may release from the edges and flow through the fuel lines to the fuel filter. These deposits can then plug the fuel filter. This is generally problematic only when using B100 blend. B20 blend and blends below do not frequently have this problem. The fuel filter can be plugged only when using a fuel tank that previously contained petroleum diesel fuel. To keep this from happening, it is recommended that the fuel filter be replaced before the engine is converted to biodiesel and after a few thousand miles of using biodiesel until the fuel system is cleaned of the deposits left from the petroleum diesel. In summary, biodiesel acts as a fuel system cleaner, cleaning injectors, fuel pump, fuel tank, and fuel lines of the contaminants that petroleum diesel leaves. In the long run, this creates fewer problems for the engine.
Biodiesel will diminish our food resources and land used for crops.
The National Biodiesel Board's Feedstock Development program is addressing this concern. Biodiesel is made from sustainable resources including plant oils, animal fats, and recycled grease. Plant oils from algae, seashore mallow, mustard, camelina, and jatropha are non-edible sources that are being researched or are already starting to be used to create biodiesel. Recycled restaurant oils and animal fats are also types of feedstock being used to produce biodiesel that cannot be used for anything else.
Using soybeans as feedstock for biodiesel will not increase the price for consumers drastically. Only nineteen percent of the cost of this food resource goes into producing the food. The other eighty-one percent of the cost goes into labor, packaging, transportation, energy, profits, advertising, depreciation, rent, interest, repairs business taxes, and other unrelated costs. Using soybeans to create biodiesel has no effect on eighty-one percent of the cost of the food resources.
Using soybean oil as feedstock for biodiesel increases the use of the oil in the soybeans that is being bought which increases the value that farmers receive for their crops, making protein meal less expensive. Soybeans are eighty percent soy meal and twenty percent oil. Biodiesel creators are willing to pay for the oil part of the soybean which allows farmers to charge less for the part of the soybean that provide the protein. This reduces feed costs for domestic livestock, dairy and poultry producers, and makes buying soy meal cheaper for all consumers in the United States. Furthermore, the biodiesel industry is looking to completely different species, like algae and shrub trees, that generate higher oil yields than soybeans and utilize less land.
Currently, about 450 million acres of land in the United States are being used to grow crops, mostly for the use of animal feed in the meat industry, and about 580 million acres in the US are being used for grassland pastures and ranges. Together this is about half of the 2.3 billion acres within the US. In order to produce enough biodiesel to overtake petroleum diesel, certain feedstock would utilize much of this land. Other types of feedstock, including algae, would not exploit this much land. Algae are "among the most photosynthetically efficient plants. They use photosynthesis to convert solar energy into chemical energy stored in the form of oils, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. From 1978 to 1996 the National Renewable Energy Laboratory began the "Aquatic Species Program". This program studied high-oil algaes that could be grown for "wide scale biodiesel production". Some species of algae have over 50% oil content and grow at extremely fast rates. Growing algae would take up about 15,000 square miles (9.5 million acres) to produce the 140.8 billion gallons of biodiesel needed to replace all the diesel engines in the United States with this type of biodiesel. As compared to the 450 million acres used for crop farming and the over 500 million acres used as grazing land for farm animals in the US, the amount of land algae would occupy would be much less than the amount of land other feedstock would utilize. Algae farms would be built in different locations all around the country to reduce the cost and energy of transportation. Algae can be grown in shallow saltwater pools in desert regions or in waste streams. Waste streams provide nutrients for the algae to grow. This is extremely environmentally friendly because the nutrients in the algae can then be used as fertilizer which then recycles the nutrients from fertilizer to food to waste and back to fertilizer.
The National Biodiesel Board's Feedstock Development program is addressing this concern. Biodiesel is made from sustainable resources including plant oils, animal fats, and recycled grease. Plant oils from algae, seashore mallow, mustard, camelina, and jatropha are non-edible sources that are being researched or are already starting to be used to create biodiesel. Recycled restaurant oils and animal fats are also types of feedstock being used to produce biodiesel that cannot be used for anything else.
Using soybeans as feedstock for biodiesel will not increase the price for consumers drastically. Only nineteen percent of the cost of this food resource goes into producing the food. The other eighty-one percent of the cost goes into labor, packaging, transportation, energy, profits, advertising, depreciation, rent, interest, repairs business taxes, and other unrelated costs. Using soybeans to create biodiesel has no effect on eighty-one percent of the cost of the food resources.
Using soybean oil as feedstock for biodiesel increases the use of the oil in the soybeans that is being bought which increases the value that farmers receive for their crops, making protein meal less expensive. Soybeans are eighty percent soy meal and twenty percent oil. Biodiesel creators are willing to pay for the oil part of the soybean which allows farmers to charge less for the part of the soybean that provide the protein. This reduces feed costs for domestic livestock, dairy and poultry producers, and makes buying soy meal cheaper for all consumers in the United States. Furthermore, the biodiesel industry is looking to completely different species, like algae and shrub trees, that generate higher oil yields than soybeans and utilize less land.
Currently, about 450 million acres of land in the United States are being used to grow crops, mostly for the use of animal feed in the meat industry, and about 580 million acres in the US are being used for grassland pastures and ranges. Together this is about half of the 2.3 billion acres within the US. In order to produce enough biodiesel to overtake petroleum diesel, certain feedstock would utilize much of this land. Other types of feedstock, including algae, would not exploit this much land. Algae are "among the most photosynthetically efficient plants. They use photosynthesis to convert solar energy into chemical energy stored in the form of oils, carbohydrates, proteins, etc. From 1978 to 1996 the National Renewable Energy Laboratory began the "Aquatic Species Program". This program studied high-oil algaes that could be grown for "wide scale biodiesel production". Some species of algae have over 50% oil content and grow at extremely fast rates. Growing algae would take up about 15,000 square miles (9.5 million acres) to produce the 140.8 billion gallons of biodiesel needed to replace all the diesel engines in the United States with this type of biodiesel. As compared to the 450 million acres used for crop farming and the over 500 million acres used as grazing land for farm animals in the US, the amount of land algae would occupy would be much less than the amount of land other feedstock would utilize. Algae farms would be built in different locations all around the country to reduce the cost and energy of transportation. Algae can be grown in shallow saltwater pools in desert regions or in waste streams. Waste streams provide nutrients for the algae to grow. This is extremely environmentally friendly because the nutrients in the algae can then be used as fertilizer which then recycles the nutrients from fertilizer to food to waste and back to fertilizer.
Biodiesel is more expensive than petroleum diesel.
Currently, biodiesel is more expensive than petroleum diesel. However, biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with little or no modification to the engine. Consequently, there would be no additional cost for a new engine or large modification. Also, the increase in cost of a low blend of biodiesel, such as B2 blend, is about one to three cents per gallon. This includes the fuel, transportation, storage, and blending costs. Although there is a small increase in cost, the quality of the diesel will also increase since biodiesel improves the lubricity of diesel fuel.
Tax Incentive
Biodiesel distributors get a biodiesel tax incentive which lowers the cost to produce biodiesel which then lowers the cost for the consumer. This tax incentive minimizes the difference in price between diesel and biodiesel. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, "provides that all biodiesel, regardless of the feedstock used to produce the fuel, qualifies for the $1 per gallon biodiesel incentive.
Increase number of available jobs
If the tax incentive for biodiesel causes more people to use biodiesel then there will be an increase the need for workers. More jobs will be available in manufacturing, agriculture, and all divisions within these industries. Over the next ten years, about fifty thousand jobs in the United States could be created because of the tax incentive.
Currently, biodiesel is more expensive than petroleum diesel. However, biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with little or no modification to the engine. Consequently, there would be no additional cost for a new engine or large modification. Also, the increase in cost of a low blend of biodiesel, such as B2 blend, is about one to three cents per gallon. This includes the fuel, transportation, storage, and blending costs. Although there is a small increase in cost, the quality of the diesel will also increase since biodiesel improves the lubricity of diesel fuel.
Tax Incentive
Biodiesel distributors get a biodiesel tax incentive which lowers the cost to produce biodiesel which then lowers the cost for the consumer. This tax incentive minimizes the difference in price between diesel and biodiesel. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, "provides that all biodiesel, regardless of the feedstock used to produce the fuel, qualifies for the $1 per gallon biodiesel incentive.
Increase number of available jobs
If the tax incentive for biodiesel causes more people to use biodiesel then there will be an increase the need for workers. More jobs will be available in manufacturing, agriculture, and all divisions within these industries. Over the next ten years, about fifty thousand jobs in the United States could be created because of the tax incentive.
Biodiesel emissions
Some believe that biodiesel emits the same or greater amounts of dangerous emissions than petroleum diesel. On the contrary, biodiesel emits zero sulfates, about seventy-eight percent less carbon dioxide emissions, and about forty-seven percent less particulate matter emissions.
Nitrogen oxides
There have been concerns that biodiesel emits more nitrogen oxides (NOx) than petroleum diesel. Nitrogen oxides are air pollutants that mix with sunlight to form smog, a respiratory irritant. This would be a significant problem because diesel engines already emit high amounts of nitrogen oxides and smog is currently a serious environmental and health issue. However, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory declared that the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted by biodiesel varies depending on the feedstock, the engine type, and the testing methods.
Previous studies, reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), showed that the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted by B20 blend were two percent more than those emitted by petroleum diesel. NREL scientists challenged these studies and claimed that the EPA only focused on data from one engine design, the test bed engine, thus biasing their results. They realized that the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted by biodiesel varies. Later, Scott Gordon, chemist and founder of the Green Technologies, expanded upon the NREL scientists' conclusion. Gordon found that test bed engines don't mimic NOx emissions under real world conditions.
Gordon also discovered that catalytic converts, which remove nitrogen oxide emissions from the engine, can be used in ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) engines. Biodiesel is used in ULSD engines. The use of ULSD fuel is required in many states and is mixed with blends of biodiesel that act as a lubricant to protect the engine against wear. Sulfur poisons the catalytic converters which is why they cannot be used with conventional diesel. Regular diesel engines do emit more nitrogen oxides because they contain high amounts of sulfur prohibiting the use of the catalytic converters. However, Biodiesel is used with ULSD fuel which allows the use of catalytic converters, thereby, reducing the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted into the atmosphere from the engine emissions.
Sulfur
There are no sulfur oxides or sulfates in biodiesel. Sulfur is a major component of acid rain. Using biodiesel makes a huge difference in the environment since petroleum diesel in the United States has a very high sulfur content. Also, the absence of sulfur from biodiesel allows the use of catalytic converters which in effect, decreases the amount of nitrogen oxides in emissions as well.
Carbon oxides
The carbon dioxide (CO2) in biodiesel is recycled. Since biodiesel is plant-based, it is essentially run on solar energy. This means that the plants convert sunlight to energy, forming carbohydrates. The plants use the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and mix it with water to create these carbohydrates. Engines that use biodiesel then burn these plant-based products and release the carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere which is then used by other plants. Biodiesel is carbon neutral, meaning it does not alter the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Instead of recycling the carbon dioxide that is already present in the atmosphere by plants, fossil fuels take carbon dioxide from the ground and release this additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As compared to petroleum diesel, a fossil fuel, biodiesel reduces the net gain of carbon dioxide emissions by seventy-eight percent.
While the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released when using biodiesel does not increase or decrease, the amount of carbon monoxide emissions does decrease. Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by fifty percent when using biodiesel as compared to petroleum diesel.
Particulate Matter
Particulate matter has extremely harmful effects on human health. It is linked to respiratory illnesses, including asthma, and can cause lung cancer. The risk of getting cancer from the particulates in biodiesel is about ninety-four percent less than that of petroleum diesel. Biodiesel reduces particulate matter by about forty-seven percent as compared to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel has less dangerous particulate matter because it reduces the solid carbon fraction on the particulate matter while increasing the amount of oxygen.
Hydrocarbons
Biodiesel emits much less unburned hydrocarbon than does petroleum diesel. Hydrocarbons contribute to smog and ozone which are dangerous for human health and they contribute to global warming. The total hydrocarbons emitted from biodiesel are about sixty-seven percent lower than are emitted from petroleum diesel fuel. Furthermore, the ozone forming potential of biodiesel hydrocarbons is about fifty percent less than that of petroleum diesel fuel. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nPAH) can also cause cancer. Biodiesel emissions reduce these PAH compounds by about seventy-eight to eighty-five percent and reduce these nPAH compounds to only trace levels.
Some believe that biodiesel emits the same or greater amounts of dangerous emissions than petroleum diesel. On the contrary, biodiesel emits zero sulfates, about seventy-eight percent less carbon dioxide emissions, and about forty-seven percent less particulate matter emissions.
Nitrogen oxides
There have been concerns that biodiesel emits more nitrogen oxides (NOx) than petroleum diesel. Nitrogen oxides are air pollutants that mix with sunlight to form smog, a respiratory irritant. This would be a significant problem because diesel engines already emit high amounts of nitrogen oxides and smog is currently a serious environmental and health issue. However, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory declared that the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted by biodiesel varies depending on the feedstock, the engine type, and the testing methods.
Previous studies, reviewed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), showed that the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted by B20 blend were two percent more than those emitted by petroleum diesel. NREL scientists challenged these studies and claimed that the EPA only focused on data from one engine design, the test bed engine, thus biasing their results. They realized that the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted by biodiesel varies. Later, Scott Gordon, chemist and founder of the Green Technologies, expanded upon the NREL scientists' conclusion. Gordon found that test bed engines don't mimic NOx emissions under real world conditions.
Gordon also discovered that catalytic converts, which remove nitrogen oxide emissions from the engine, can be used in ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) engines. Biodiesel is used in ULSD engines. The use of ULSD fuel is required in many states and is mixed with blends of biodiesel that act as a lubricant to protect the engine against wear. Sulfur poisons the catalytic converters which is why they cannot be used with conventional diesel. Regular diesel engines do emit more nitrogen oxides because they contain high amounts of sulfur prohibiting the use of the catalytic converters. However, Biodiesel is used with ULSD fuel which allows the use of catalytic converters, thereby, reducing the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted into the atmosphere from the engine emissions.
Sulfur
There are no sulfur oxides or sulfates in biodiesel. Sulfur is a major component of acid rain. Using biodiesel makes a huge difference in the environment since petroleum diesel in the United States has a very high sulfur content. Also, the absence of sulfur from biodiesel allows the use of catalytic converters which in effect, decreases the amount of nitrogen oxides in emissions as well.
Carbon oxides
The carbon dioxide (CO2) in biodiesel is recycled. Since biodiesel is plant-based, it is essentially run on solar energy. This means that the plants convert sunlight to energy, forming carbohydrates. The plants use the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and mix it with water to create these carbohydrates. Engines that use biodiesel then burn these plant-based products and release the carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere which is then used by other plants. Biodiesel is carbon neutral, meaning it does not alter the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Instead of recycling the carbon dioxide that is already present in the atmosphere by plants, fossil fuels take carbon dioxide from the ground and release this additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As compared to petroleum diesel, a fossil fuel, biodiesel reduces the net gain of carbon dioxide emissions by seventy-eight percent.
While the amount of carbon dioxide emissions released when using biodiesel does not increase or decrease, the amount of carbon monoxide emissions does decrease. Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by fifty percent when using biodiesel as compared to petroleum diesel.
Particulate Matter
Particulate matter has extremely harmful effects on human health. It is linked to respiratory illnesses, including asthma, and can cause lung cancer. The risk of getting cancer from the particulates in biodiesel is about ninety-four percent less than that of petroleum diesel. Biodiesel reduces particulate matter by about forty-seven percent as compared to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel has less dangerous particulate matter because it reduces the solid carbon fraction on the particulate matter while increasing the amount of oxygen.
Hydrocarbons
Biodiesel emits much less unburned hydrocarbon than does petroleum diesel. Hydrocarbons contribute to smog and ozone which are dangerous for human health and they contribute to global warming. The total hydrocarbons emitted from biodiesel are about sixty-seven percent lower than are emitted from petroleum diesel fuel. Furthermore, the ozone forming potential of biodiesel hydrocarbons is about fifty percent less than that of petroleum diesel fuel. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nPAH) can also cause cancer. Biodiesel emissions reduce these PAH compounds by about seventy-eight to eighty-five percent and reduce these nPAH compounds to only trace levels.