Well, we've done it. In the last month or so we've moved off of
gasoline and onto biodiesel. We bought a used TDI, joined up with a
biodiesel co-op, and sold our old Corsica. We're still waiting for the
solvency of the biodiesel to loosen up some more of the gunk that has
built up in the engine over time and clog the fuel filter and then
we'll replace the filter and be all set. I'll be interested to discover what kind of fuel economy we get out of this car after we get some highway driving in -- the guy we
bought it from said he'd been averaging about 45 mpg overall. (Or, for
those of you keeping track at home, almost 1.5 miles per chicken ).
Except our biodiesel is made from local soybeans, not chickens. (And not palm oil , either). We are part of a tiny co-op near our house which has a tank that requires hand-cranking to pump the fuel. I've heard more and more people wondering why there is no commercial bio-diesel station (or conventional station that has a large biodiesel tank) -- maybe someday!
Environmental benefits in comparison to petroleum based fuels include:
Biodiesel reduces emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) by approximately 50% and carbon dioxide
by 78% on a net lifecycle basis because the carbon in biodiesel
emissions is recycled from carbon that was in the atmosphere, rather
than the carbon introduced from petroleum that was sequestered in the
earth's crust. However, it does produce more NOx emissions than
standard diesel fuel. (Sheehan, 1998)
Biodiesel can reduce by as much as 20% the direct (tailpipe) emission of particulates,
small particles of solid combustion products, on vehicles with
particulate filters, compared with low-sulfur (<50 ppm) diesel.
Particulate emissions as the result of production are reduced by around
50%, compared with fossil-sourced diesel. (Beer et al, 2004).
Biodiesel has a higher cetane rating
than petrodiesel, which can improve performance and clean up emissions
compared to crude petrodiesel (with cetane lower than 40).
Biodiesel is biodegradable and non-toxic - the U.S. Department of
Energy confirms that biodiesel is less toxic than table salt and
biodegrades as quickly as sugar. (See Biodiesel handling and use guidelines)
In the United States, biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to
have successfully completed the Health Effects Testing requirements
(Tier I and Tier II) of the Clean Air Act (1990).
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology have found a much better way to make biodiesel. Their new method could lower the cost and increase the energy efficiency of fuel production.
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