Benefits of Biodiesel
The smartest technologies deliver benefits to multiple interests, including an improved economy, sustainabilty and a positive impact on the environment.
Emissions & Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to successfully complete the EPA’s rigorous emissions and health effects study under the Clean Air Act. Biodiesel provides significantly reduced emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, unburned hydrocarbons, and sulfates compared to petroleum diesel fuel. Additionally, biodiesel reduces emissions of carcinogenic compounds by as much as 85% compared with petrodiesel. When blended with petroleum diesel fuel, these emissions reductions are generally directly proportional to the amount of biodiesel in the blend.
Easy to Use
One of the great advantages of biodiesel is that it can be used in existing engines, vehicles and infrastructure with practically no changes. Biodiesel can be pumped, stored and burned just like petroleum diesel fuel, and can be used pure, or in blends with petroleum diesel fuel in any proportion. Power and fuel economy using biodiesel is practically identical to petroleum diesel fuel, and year round operation can be achieved by blending with diesel fuel.
Improved Power, Performance and Economy
In Washington, Propel Inc.—which owns a network of fueling stations that offer B5, B20 and B99—recently completed a study with The Essential Baking Co. that concluded that B99 runs as effectively as, if not better than, petroleum diesel when used in the baking company’s delivery vehicles, according to Propel. The vehicles varied in model year and type, and were driven on a variety of routes and a variety of distances. Essential Baking used 2,500 gallons of B99 over 37,000 miles and 13 weeks beginning in January. Air temperatures dipped below 35 degrees Fahrenheit during 32 days of the study, and none of the vehicles experienced failures. The majority of drivers reported that the vehicles ran smoother and quieter on B99 than on petroleum diesel.
Safe, Biodegradable and Less Toxic than Table Salt
Toxicity, Biodegradability, Safety & Recycling
Though it is uncommon for the average person to come into direct contact with fuels, occasional spills do occur, and the impact of the fuel on plants and animals must be considered. Biodiesel has been proven to be much less toxic than diesel fuel, and is readily biodegradable. These attributes make it less likely to harm the environment if an accidental spill occurred, and far less costly to repair damage and clean up.
Less Toxic than Table Salt
Being derived from vegetable oils, biodiesel is naturally non-toxic. The acute oral LD50 (lethal dose) of biodiesel is more than 17.4 g/Kg. By comparison table salt (NaCl) has an LD50 of 3.0g/Kg. This means that table salt is almost 6 times more toxic than biodiesel.4
Aquatic Impacts
In an aquatic environment, biodiesel is 15 times less toxic to common species of fish than diesel fuel.*
Biodegradability
In both soil and water, biodiesel degraded at a rate 4 times faster than regular diesel fuel, with nearly 80% of the carbon in the fuel being readily converted by soil and water borne organisms in as little as 28 days.*
Energy Dollars Stay in Your Community
Since biodiesel can be created from locally available resources, it’s production and use can provide a host of economic benefits for local communities. locally available feedstocks are collected, converted to biodiesel, then distributed and used within the community. This keeps energy dollars in the community instead of sending them to foreign oil producers and refineries outside the community. The benefits of this may vary for each case, but can include:
- Increased tax base from biodiesel production operations.
- Jobs created for feedstock farming and/or collection.
- Skilled jobs created for biodiesel production and distribution.
- Income for local feedstock supliers and refiners.
