vegetable oil – Page 3 – Biofuels Facts

Bio-Fuels – Types and Features

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Bio-fuels are those that are derived from biomass and use renewable sources of energy usually employing plant matter as the raw material. The most common types of bio-fuels are solid biomass, various biogases, and liquid fuels. As the price of depleting fossil fuel rises, affecting the world economy, biofuels may come to the rescue as a partial or complete replacement for our energy needs.

Bio-fuels can come in many different varieties and some of the first generation of such fuels includes bio-alcohols, Vegetable Oils, green diesel, biogas, Syngas and bio-diesel. Bioethanol is a type of fuel that is already being used in countries such as the United States and Brazil to a certain extent. This type of fuel is manufactured making use of vegetation that is used for feeding livestock. Therefore it does not use edible plants used by human beings which makes it a much better option compared to other edible crops.

Bio-diesel can help in reduction of toxic gases such as carbon monoxide since it uses animal fat, recycled greases and vegetable oils. Even though it can be utilized in its pure form, it is generally used as an additive to normal diesel. This type of fuel is the most popular one in European countries.

There are myriad varieties of bio-fuels and some of them include propanol and butanol but the most widely used bio-fuel is ethanol. Made by fermentation of sugar and starches, ethanol is produced by the action of micro-organisms on these substances. The use of ethanol is widespread in Brazil and is created from molasses, corn, sugarcane and sugar beets. Even though such fuels can decrease the quantity of noxious waste; they are still not entirely cost-effective and competent as compared to gas. Methanol and Butanol are the other types of alcohol based fuels on hand but are made use of to a smaller extent.

Green diesel, which is also known as renewable diesel, is a kind of diesel fuel which is derived from renewable feedstock instead of the fossil feedstock used in many other types of diesel fuels. Green diesel is different compared to biodiesel which is chemically different and made using transesterification instead of using the usual fractional distillation utilized to manufacture green diesel.

Biodiesel is the most ordinary kind of bio-fuel used in Europe and is produced from oils or fats using transesterification and is a liquid not unlike conventional fossil or mineral diesel. Vegetable oil is one more biofuel which can be made use of in some engines and many companies manufacture engines that are adjusted for utilizing straight vegetable oil, without the necessity for after-market modifications.

To know more and explore a complete guide on this link Bio-fuels – An Overview

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Future For Biofuel Vehicles?

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Anyone who’s been paying attention has heard talk about alternative fuels, including biofuels, and how alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles are good for the environment as well as the fact that they allow countries to reduce their dependence on foreign oil.

Bio-diesel fuel is generally made from vegetable oil, such as soybean, peanut, or canola oil, and can be used either by itself or in combination with regular diesel to run diesel cars, trucks and buses.

Indeed, there are people today driving bio-diesel vehicles that run 100% on biofuels like recycled vegetable oil they get for free from their local fast food restaurants.

Diesel vehicles built from 1995 on can all use bio-diesel without modifications, even mixing diesel and bio-diesel in the same fuel tank, because the newer engines don’t use rubber rings, which can be eaten away by bio-diesel. And conversion kits are readily available for older diesel engines.

(Interestingly, the original diesel engines back in the 1890s were actually designed to run on peanut oil!)

Bio-diesel reduces carbon emissions…with pure bio-diesel reducing emissions by 90% over petroleum diesel. Not only that, but vegetable-based bio-diesel is what is called “carbon neutral”. In other words, the amount of carbon emitted is offset by what the plant matter took in from the atmosphere before harvesting.

Biofuel is also bio-degradable so a biofuel spill is not the environmental crisis that an oil spill would be. And bio-diesel fuel can be domestically grown, eliminating our dependence on foreign oil.

Bio-diesel and petroleum diesel mix extremely well and are commercially available in variety of combinations, ranging from 5% bio-diesel up.

As with all cars, however, there are also downsides, as use of bio-diesels in vehicles increases nitrogen oxide, which is also a harmful pollutant, contributing to acid rain, ground-level ozone, and global warming, among other things. However, the EPA has put strict emission standards and environmental regulations into place to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxide by 90% or more. The use of better catalytic converters, such as are currently used in Europe, will help significantly.

Another downside could be of more practical concern to the bio-diesel car owner in colder areas. Bio-diesel has what is called a “high clouding point”. This means that bio-diesel tends to solidify at low temperatures, making it more expensive to transport in colder climates, raising the price at the pump, and also may require using lower-blend bio-diesel in the really cold weather. For those people using 100% vegetable oil, which can gel at temperatures under 25 degrees, a system that heats and filters the fuel is essential, and you might need to run an alternative fuel tank for running regular or lower-blend diesel.

However, with better gas mileage, lower emissions, and the use of renewable, domestic sources, the upsides actually make biofuel cars a “greener” option than even hybrids.

Take Care,

Steve Longoria

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