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Biodiesel 101
Compared with conventional petroleum/fossil diesel, biodiesel combusts better, having a higher cetane rating, and produces fewer life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) which contribute to climate change. Or so say the authorities at Natural Resources Canada .
Below I have posted some of the most relevant talking points around bioD, as it is referred to. You may consider it as your own biodiesel 101 checklist!
- Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made from the oil of plants, animals and fish.
- German inventor, Rudolph Diesel who originally used peanut oil for fuel, invented the diesel engine over 100 years ago – and biodiesel was the original fuel.
- Biodiesel is blended with petroleum diesel to varying degrees – for example, B5 denotes a blend consisting of 5% biodiesel and 95% petroleum, B20 = 20% biodiesel and so on.
- There is no perceptible difference in power or fuel consumption.
- It is as biodegradable as sugar and less toxic than table salt.
- It can be used in all diesel engines made after 1993 with no engine modifications.
- Biodiesel is a solvent, so it cleans fuel systems and tanks. The solvency of blends over B20 can erode rubber gaskets and seals in pre-1993 vehicles (newer vehicles use synthetic gaskets and seals).
- “Energy balance” is the ratio of the units of fossil energy required to produce one unit of fuel energy. Biodiesel has a high energy balance of about 3 to 1 or 300%. Ethanol is low at 0.6 to 1 or just 60%.
- Biodiesel has more lubricity than petroleum diesel, so it decreases engine wear.
- “First generation” is a term that refers to producing fuel from crops grown specifically for fuel, i.e. displacing food crops, wasting arable land, etc., and the worst example of first generation BD is palm oil, which is produced by clearing rainforests in favour of palms used strictly for fuel (very controversial).
- “Second generation” refers to the refinement of by-products such as animal rendering and used cooking oil, which sounds great, but second generation sources would severely restrict production capacity – canola (in Canada) and soy (U.S.) are the current front-runners for multi-million litre production targets.
13 Comments
Comments
Jules, permit me to respond in point form for brevity…
- the EU has had diesel (approx 50% of the fleet) however clean diesel is only new to the EU, in fact diesel emission regulations have been more aggressive in North America.
- taxation and refining have dictated diesel market penetration. First, fuel costs in the EU have been very high for a long time. Most of this is due to taxation levels relative to the NA system. High prices drive consumer demand to more efficient models. A diesel engine is 30% more efficient than petrol. Second, EU petroleum refining capacity on a barrel of crude is split 50/50 distillate (diesel, kerosene) and gasoline. In NA the mix is 25/75. We have gasoline supply here in NA and import a large quantity of diesel. This will change over the next five years as refiners complete investments in diesel retooling.
- diesel in light duty vehicles (LDV) is about 3% market share in NA. All manufacturers are coming with diesel in the next two years with a projection for 15 – 20% share by 2020.
- The US has never been diesel friendly and Canada is a very small market for a manufacturer to focus a particular technology. The only one with a solid committment has been VW.
- Volkswagen Canada was the first manufacturer to include biodiesel under full warranty coverage (up to B5 or 5% biodiesel and 95% petroleum). They are also a voting member of the CRFA Canadian Renewable Fuel Association.
- Hemp! Absolutely. This link http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/publications/2008/03/Annual_Report_2007.-bin.acq/qual-BinaryStorageItem.Single.File/VW_AG_GB_2007_en.pdf
will take you to the 2007 VWAG Annual Report. Have a look at pages 66 – 70 and in particular the photo on page 68 of the hemp field (no, not cannabis) used for feedstock in the testing of SunFuel which is a low carbon renewable fuel under development in Germany.
Hope this helps, feel free to fire any further questions or observations.
I was watching the US presidential debate very closely tonight. Obama mentioned the importance of biodiesel (along with other renewable technologies) 4 times. There is an obvious political and economic attraction to the use of biodiesel in North America and we could all benefit from using cleaner technologies that deter the use of foreign fossil fuels and drilling our own reservoirs and extensive environmental damage in the tar sands with copious amounts of energy and water wasted in the process.
There is an important distinction to make between grain-based 1st generation biodiesel (soy, canola, palm) and recycled biodiesel (waste vegetable grease and tallow grease based). Grain-based biodiesel uses large amounts of hydrocarbons in the production and transportation (full-life cycle) of the grains and due to the large scale of production, affect the amount of land used for energy purposes. Recycled biodiesel comes from waste products (vegetable and animal fats).
The next important criteria is the percentage of biodiesel at the pump. Most biodiesel is blended with conventional diesel (blends of B5 to B99 or unblended neat biodiesel/B100-100% biodiesel).
The next important factor is the quality specification that is accepted by the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) which is cearly defined as the requirement by the EPA as the technical definition of biodiesel for the transportation industry in North America. The specific standard for biodiesel is ASTM D 6751. There is no reason why VW and all other diesel engine manufacturers should NOT allow the use of blends higher than B5 to meet their engine warranty if the biodiesel fully complies with this standard. These restrictions are disabling the consumer to use truly “clean diesel” with a higher blend of biodiesel which is better for the vehicle’s maintenance (due to the solvency and cetane rating) and better for the environment and health. Compared to regular diesel, pure biodiesel (B100) produces a 73% reduction in lifecycle CO2 emissions, a 51% reduction in methane emissions, a 67% reduction in unburned hydrocarbons, a 48% reduction in carbon monoxide, a 47% reduction in particulate matter (PM), a 100% reduction in sulphur oxide emissions, and an 80% reduction in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which can cause cancer and emphysema. (Source: Western Economic Diversification Canada).
As the biodiesel manager for Recycling Alternative and the Vancouver Biodiesel Coop, we offer only Recycled B100 biodiesel.
In my opinion, car manufacturers are acting as barriers in not committing to allowing ASTM spec. B100 biodiesel under warranty. The feedstock source is debatable and will become more apparent in the near future (algae is very promising), but as long as biodiesel meets the ASTM standard, there should be no restrictions on its use in any diesel engine.
There are a whole host of variables that enter into the ultimate environmental benefits of using Biodiesel esters as fuel in diesel engines. I would be very circumspect in quoting absolute numbers on life cycle emissions. J-M Toriel is quite correct in making the distinction between feedstocks and ultimate emissions.
While not an ethanol convert, there are some recycled sources of ethanol that present significantly less emissions than the conventional corn feedstock model and yet all ethanol fuel seems to be continually tied to this model.
My view of biodiesel and other alternative fuels is that they provide the opportunity for people to experience that fact that we don’t have to rely exclusively on petroleum for transportation fuel. The acceptance of this concept provides the opportinity to shift away from petroleum.
The cost of alternative fuels continues to be the issue simply because most North Americans do not include the external costs to the environment and health when pricing their petroleum products. Andrew has made the point about different jurisdictions have different tax systems. It is now possible to sell North American biodiesel to Europe and still make a profit over what the biodiesel can be sold for here. Quite the cabon footprint there. The same situation exists with wood pellets. I heard last week that round wood (logs) are being placed in containers and sold to China…
I apologize in advance for the Techno nature of the question that follows.
I noticed Andrew’s reference to a Diesel engine being 30% more efficient than a Gasoline engine. I have seen this number before and decided to look into this. I went to http://www.fueleconomy.gov and used a side by side compare of the 2009 Jetta Sport Wagon with identical drive trains – only difference was one was a diesel and the other was gas. I won’t get into the different methods of calculating City/Hwy/Combined mileage – I have assumed that the method applied was the same for both vehicles.
What I came up with was the combined miles per gallon for the gasoline powered Jetta was 25 and the diesel was 34. By my calc, the diesel gets 27% more distance per volume of fuel. This difference is in keeping with the idea that the diesel makes more efficient use of the fuel BUT what is missing is the fact that there is more energy in a gallon of diesel than in a gallon of gasoline.
Using http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density
The energy density in MJ/L (energy/volume):
Gasoline: 34.6
Diesel: 42.3
This shows that there is 18% more energy in a volume of diesel than there is in a volume of gasoline.
If you accept the above to be true, the diesel vehicle should drive 18% further based on the extra energy in the diesel fuel + 30% further because the diesel makes more efficient use of the fuel –> then the diesel powered engine in this case should drive 48% further on the same volume of gasoline – Not the 27% observed. Where is the proported increased efficiency?
JM,
As good an idea as B100 appears to be, we simply do not have anywhere near the capacity to produce that much biodiesel with current technology, arable land, waste material, etc.
A significant benefit of the federal renewable fuel standard of B2 is that it will hopefully jump start biodiesel technology development that may lead to solutions like algae production that allow for higher blends of high quality fuel.
It will be a long time before there is any complete replacement for petroleum/oil fuels. Oil, even at $150/bbl is still the cheapest form of liquid fuel. This is because we continue to measure price without including what are currently considered external costs (environment, health etc.).
To argue that there just isn’t enough of a particular alternative fuel to justify the effort falls into the trap of doing nothing. We need to shift away from this perspective. We know that recycling at home really dosent have a significant impact (1-tonne challenge)if industry dosen’t get involved.
What we need to do is raise awareness that we can actually do something – at least on a one by one basis in all aspects of our lives. In my case, developing small-scale renewable fuel production is a start. This follows the ‘think globally – act locally’ idea where at least people are doing something. With this approach, people will be more easilly engaged in greener options as the technology develops – and it will.
I just downloaded copies of the new ASTM specifications for Biodiesel and Biodiesel blends. There is now a specification for biodiesel blended with diesel fuel up to 20% biodiesel (B-20). This specification is ASTM D 7467-08.
What this means is that there now exist analytical test methods to assess the blended fuel quality. In the recent past, it had always been assumed that if the pure Biodiesel met specification, the blended fuel should be ‘good to go’.
We now can assess, on a case by case basis (or in this case – a blend by blend basis) whether or not the blended fuel is actually ‘good to go’.
The engine manufacturers were part of this ASTM (American Society for Testing & Materials) group that developed this standard. Perhaps now Volkswagon will increase their allowable biodiesel blend under warentee to B-20????
Mike V,
B100 is a reality at our retail site in Vancouver. We have a 4200L tank, pump and cardlock set up for 24/7 access for residential and fleet access. As we use ASTM standard tallow-based B100 (waste animal fats), our tank is heated and there is an abundant and constant supply from the rendering industry. We are currently seeking a supply from waste vegetable (yellow) grease for the winter months. It is only a matter of time before algae or some other feedstock (like woodchips) come on line.
So, time for the car manufacturers to get their act together and allow for higher blends!
JM,
The Canadian annual diesel pool is something on the order of 30-billion liters. How many liters of B100 could be made available? How would we manage the temperature issues of blends above B5 in the dead of winter?
Why is it that people continue to view the application of biofuels on National scale? Why not look at this on a regional, appropriately sized scale?
The current production capacity in Nova Scotia is ~11,000,000 L of Biodiesel. Annual On-road diesel consumption in Nova Scotia is 435,000,000 L. If all the biodiesel were blended with on-road diesel, this would create a B-2.5 blend. In the real world, the most effective application would concentrate on the major population center, Halifax. Local Biodiesel producers have been supplying trucking fleets with B-10 for over 3 winters without ANY cold flow issues.
Is it being suggested that VW won’t support higher blends because of potential cold flow issues? Keep in mind that there are effective cold flow additives on the market for blends of B-20 and less.
Hi, John
I do not speak for Volkswagen…. I’m just a simple car dealer…. who actively advocates for the integration of environmentally sustaibable business practices 
Volkswagen is testing blends up to B20. Your blend quote above of B-2.5 is interesting. The recently announced federal RFS (renewable fuel std) is B2.
Looks like onroad demand and production capaicty are well aligned here – yet another “sustainability first” for Nova Scotia.
If you go to a Bio fuel, home brew or otherwise…Whos going to pay the road tax? Have you any idea how much tax there is in a gal of fuel? (Fed & state)…Here in the great Northeast its about 46 cents per gal.! Other than that, algae does look very promising…http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1490/
September 21, 2008 by Jules Burt
Dear VW / TDI folk…regarding Biodiesel (and your diesel cars…)
I have two questions – both of which I believe are related to long term solutions to our fuel issues:
1. Why has Europe been able to offer clean Diesel (and now Ethanol) engine options on ALL passenger cars for at least 20yrs. More than half of all cars in Europe run diesel – and now of course are beginning to run Biodiesel (and now Bioethanol too). Why are Diesel cars in Canada the ‘new TDI’, included – so hard to get exactly???
(In connection does VW alert it’s customers to possibility of using Biodiesel to its new TDI customers? It’s a lot cleaner for your engine.)
2. Is VW / TDI aware of Hemp as the best potential source of Biofuel mass?
This is due a number of factors:
Hemp has the most Biomass produced by any plant – 10 tons per acre in 4 months.
Requires no pesticides, is drought resistant and uses little fertilizer.
http://hemp-ethanol.blogspot.com/2008/01/economics-history-and-politics-of-hemp.html
http://hempcar.org/efia.shtml
Sincerely, Jules.