Bio-diesel - an interesting idea but not without its own set of problems

As part of a number of recent projects I've been involved in, issues have arisen with regard to running vehicle fleets in an environmentally sympathetic way.  With the swap to LPG already having been tried, resulting in problems with reliability, one client was forced to U-turn within 24 months of purchasing an LPG fleet of vans and go back to traditional oil burners.  Other clients, being unable to source suitable larger vehicles using hybrid technology, the issue of using chip fat was suggested.  I've produced the following as a quick guide to the pros and cons of this form of alternative fuel.

Bio Diesel Background (techie stuff)

Biodiesel is a clean burning bio-fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a Biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with no modifications.

Biodiesel is biodegradable, non-toxic, carbon neutral and is essentially free of sulphur and aromatics. Biodiesel has been around for over a century. Dr. Rudolf Diesel actually invented the diesel engine to run on vegetable oil and in-fact when he presented his engine at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, his engine was running on a fuel derived from peanut oil. Prior to his death in 1913 he stated that:

“The diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils, and it will considerably help the development of agriculture in the countries which use it.' and 'The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today. But such oils may become, in course of time as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.”

However, due to the low cost of mineral oils at the time, his engine was modified to run on such oils.

Biodiesel is made through a process called transesterification (that’s a long word), whereby the glycerine is separated from the vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two products - Biodiesel (Mono-alkyl ester) and glycerine (a by-product used in soaps and other products).

One for the accountants

A simple breakdown of the cost of producing Biodiesel.

Ups and downs

So what does it all mean?

Other forms of alternative fuel technologies are available such as total biomass fuels, ethanol, natural gas, propane, hydrogen, electricity, methanol, and p-series fuels.  With current vehicle technology and existing cars on the road the following conclusions can be made:

1. Biodiesel can offer a reliable, reasonably simple, relatively cheap (once set up has been paid for) alternative to traditional Diesel fuel.
2. Unfortunately as with most fuels there is an associated issue with the long term sustainability of the product with raw material production impacting the environment and availability of the used raw product (most environmentally friendly way of producing Biodiesel) a problem.

What is for certain is that the current trend of fossil fuel burning cars cannot continue.  With the Earth’s resources being swallowed up in the greed of today’s society, and the associated impact that has on the air quality, resource depletion, and carbon emissions, a solution to alternative fuels for cars needs to be found.

Matt Lear (Management Consultant)