About BioDiesel

What is BioDiesel
The following are excerpts from a presentation by Mr. Charles Cross.

• BioDiesel, All Good
• Direct replacement for petro-diesel (dino-diesel)
• Less toxic than table salt, biodegradable like sugar
• Environmentally friendly & non-hazardous
• Provides the same engine performance – higher cetane
• Not imported from Saudi Arabia
• ASTM D6751 Standardized
• Good for American farmers, both Share-Cropper & Livestock
• Biodiesel has significantly improved lubricity, which can decrease maintenance costs and reduce engine wear. This will be especially important with Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel.
• 76 Million gallons of BioDiesel put into service in 2005
• 240 Million gallons in 2006

Environment

• Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have successfully completed the health effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act.
• These tests confirm that biodiesel reduces air toxics by up to 90%.
• Biodiesel reduces virtually all regulated emissions compared to petroleum diesel,including carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and unburned hydrocarbons.
• A USDA/DOE lifecycle analysis of biodiesel shows it reduces carbon dioxide by 78% compared to petroleum diesel.

How is it made

• Economics are risky
• Transesterification of vegetable oils and animal fats
• It is not BioDiesel unless it meets/exceeds ASTM D6751 or EN14214

How it is used

• Most any diesel engine – farm equipment, trucking, busses, military, boats, trains(soon), generators, diesel autos, etc.
• Today mostly sold through fuel distributors – next fuel racks
• Starting to see BioDiesel blends at retail pumps
• BioHeat – BioDiesel heating oil blends
• 1-866-BioDiesel to locate retail BioDiesel –  www.NBB.org
• Yellow Stone National Park - www.nps.gov/renew/yellbio.htm
• Cincinnati mass transit system - www.go-metro.com/news.html
• Montreal - BioBus - Cold weather - www.BCBioFleet.ca
• This list is extensive… US Postal Service… etc.

Government Incentives

• 2005 Jobs Act – provides $0.50 - $1.00 excise tax incentive – this offsets regular state & federal fuels taxes
• The additional tax revenues generated by a profitable U.S. biodiesel industry will be significantly larger than the value of the federal tax incentives for biodiesel.
• Support Federal and State incentives
• We need this today – we really need this looking toward the future.

What is new today

• Cummings Motors – B20 Approval
• National Trucking Company’s Biodiesel Study Shows Positive Results
• Cleaner engine oil
• Positive impact on engine wear
• Decreased maintenance due to increased lubricity
• No cold weather issues – even with temperatures in the teens and single digits
• http://nbb.grassroots.com/07Releases/decker/"

Conclusion

• BioDiesel is Good
• Visit www.BioDiesel.Org
• Support your state and federal representatives
• Every nickel of BioDiesel stays here in America
• Compound interest & Jobs

BioDiesel is defined by ASTM D6751 and is independent from the feedstock from which it was derived. This is significantly more important than resulting variances in characteristics presented here. At typically used, low blends of B20 or less, and very low blends of B5 & B2, the differences between FAME and SME become negligible. While the fundamental advantages of ASTM BioDiesel remain. Both have been exhaustively tested and successfully utilized over the widest range of conditions, both mechanically and environmentally.

SME possesses the following disadvantages except for cloud point. FAME is comprised of methyl esters(ME) which are typically longer and contain additional double carbon bonds. This gives FAME superior charteristic in higher cetane, higher BTU content per gallon, better lubricity, less affinity to suspend water and longer stability to oxidation (shelf life).

• Cetane - SME typical 47-52 vs FAME typical 58-70(some as high as 90) Most SME will not meet Europe's EN14214 Cetane of 51.
• BTU - Each of the additional carbon bonds in FAME's longer carbon chains and additional double bonds provides additional BTU when burned or combusted. This can be measured by FAME providing approximately 5% more pounds lbs per gallon. (7.01 vs. 7.38)
• Lubricity - Again, longer carbon chains provide improved lubricity.
• Affinity for water - The longer chain hydrocarbons in FAME make it considerably more hydrophobic than SME. Depending upon the source of the FAME, this difference can be dramatic.
• Cloud point(CP) - In cold weather conditions CP is important. Though in very cold weather conditions BioDiesel is typically used in very low percentages, B5 & B2. Without additives: United's FAME B5 will raise CP of petro-diesel aprox 1.5°F vs SME's 0.7, a difference of 7/10th °F. B2 is proportionally similar, less than ½ °F.
• Oxidation stability - Again the longer chain hydrocarbons in the FAME make it less likely to oxidize and thus typically has a 5-50% longer oxidation time.