The Fuel That Comes from Vegetables - Bio-diesel Fuel

Bio-diesel fuel is the name given for a clean burning methanol or ethanol-based fuel made from vegetable or animal fats. It can function as diesel engines without alteration and is also a possible entrant to replace fossil fuel as the world's primary transport energy source.

This fuel starts out at vegetable based oil. The oil is chemically changed into methyl esters or the bio-diesel and glycerin (a byproduct). The chemical procedure for this is called transesterfication. You can make biodiesel from new oil, but often the biodiesel originally started as waste oil from restaurants and even at home.

Bio-diesel can be blended in any amount with petroleum based diesel fuel even though it as a disadvantage of corrupting rubber gaskets and hoses in vehicles. Bio-diesel is a better solvent than petro-diesel and has been known to rupture down deposits of residue in the fuel lines of vehicles that have previously been run on petroleum. Fuel filters may become clogged with particulates if a quick transition to pure bio-diesel is made, but bio-diesel cleans the engine in the process.

In a research conducted at U.S. military base, a bio-diesel blend was used as a substitute for heating oil at housing on the base. Due to the solvent power of bio-diesel, residues that had been present in fuel tanks for decades were dissolved. The particulate component of the residues caused frequent clogging of fuel strainers, requiring repeated replacement, cleaning, and in some cases installation of higher capacity filters. Due to the relatively smaller surface area and service life of fuel tanks in motor vehicles and mobile equipment, filter clogging is less prevalent but still a factor to be considered.

Generally, bio-diesel is more costly to acquire than petroleum diesel, although this gap may reduce due to economies of scale, the rising cost of petroleum, and government subsidization favoring the use of bio-diesel.

The good thing about bio-diesel is, it has benefits in comparison with petroleum-based fuel. This includes:

•Bio-diesel reduces emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) by roughly about 50% and carbon dioxide by 78.45% on a net lifecycle basis because the carbon in biodiesel emissions is cast-off from carbon that was already in the atmosphere, rather than being new carbon from petroleum that was sequestered in the earth's crust.

•This fuel contains fewer aromatic hydrocarbons: benzofluoranthene: 56% reduction and Benzopyrenes: 71% reduction.

•This fuel also removes sulfur emissions (SO2), because bio-diesel does not have sulfur.

•Bio-diesel fuel reduces by as much as 65% the emission of particulates, small particles of solid combustion products.

•Bio-diesel fuel does produce more no emissions than petrodiesel, but these emissions can be lessening through the use of catalytic converters.

•This fuel is biodegradable. It can be used as a clean-up technology with oil spills.

•Non toxic in small quantities.

•This is safer to use than diesel.

•Bio-diesel fuel has already been proven as an excellent lubricity additive.

•Federal tax incentives could make low blends economical for refiners to incorporate bio-diesel as a lubricity additive.

Now, after knowing the benefits of this fuel, it is also a must that you know the things to consider when storing a bio-diesel.

1. Check storage tank for water prior to introducing bio-diesel.

2. The bio-diesel fuel should be used within six months.

3. Bio-diesel will increase the cold flow properties of the blended fuel. Your distributor can manage this by adding additives or kerosene.

4. Brass, bronze, copper, lead and zinc will cause biodiesel to oxidize and create sediments. Replace with stainless steel or aluminum.