Everyone worries about the environment and wants to go green. But it’s not up to single individuals to make a difference, but corporations, and global entities. That’s when the real transformation will occur. One of the ways to do this is by modifying vehicles and other devices so they can use biodiesel. What is biodiesel? Biodiesel is a biofuel, i.e., it’s a fuel that’s made from biological sources, mostly, used cooking oil.
Biodiesel is the first commercially available fuel to meet EPA’s definition of an advanced biofuel!
Read on to see how biodiesel helps reduce carbon emissions and is renewable energy we should all learn to rely upon.
What Is Biodiesel Usually Made Of?
Biodiesel is made from an increasingly diverse array of materials, like recycled cooking oil, animal fats, and soybean oil.
To create biodiesel, the resources have to go through a process of transesterification, which means, that the glycerin is separated from the fat or the vegetable oil.
This results in two products – methyl esters which is biodiesel, and glycerin which is used in soap and other products.
Biodiesel is clean-burning and renewable, which is why it’s gaining popularity in modern times.
There are more than 125 plants in the United States alone, which produce more than 3 billion gallons of biodiesel to meet the nations’ growing renewable energy demands.
Biodiesel is actually available in gas stations nationwide – you just need to watch out for the Black and Blue biodiesel sticker when filling up.
Where Is Biodiesel Used?
The great thing about biodiesel is that it can be used in diesel engines, mostly without modifying the engines themselves. This means it’s not costly to start using biodiesel in your diesel engines. It’s a no-brainer!
In fact, the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit gives a tax credit of 30% of the cost which is generous. But this is only if the fueling equipment for natural gas, or diesel fuel blends contain a minimum of 20% biodiesel.
There are many such initiatives around the globe, which encourage biodiesel usage to increase rapidly. No wonder the production of biodiesel increased from 20 million gallons in 2003 to more than 2.8 billion gallons today.
In 2016, a report said that the total on-road diesel market is 49 billion gallons in the United States. Out of that, freight trucks occupied 76% or 37 billion.
All those freight trucks could technically be moved over to using biodiesel, with a minimum of modification. In fact, today 78% of diesel vehicles produced are approved for biodiesel usage. That’s quite impressive!
That would result in huge savings in reducing emissions, and greenhouse gases, air pollution, and using up non-renewable resources, like diesel fuel.
What Are the Advantages of Using Biodiesel?
When compared to non-renewable petroleum-based diesel fuel, biodiesel has many advantages. Some of these are:
- Reduces greenhouse gases by 86%
- Reduces hydrocarbon emissions by 67%
- Reduces particulate matter and smog by 47%, reducing air pollution and making the air easier to breathe
Moreover, biodiesel doesn’t need more land or resources like forests, or grasslands to produce. In fact, it helps us protect the environment, and the land from further abuse and is a sustainable resource.
For every unit of fossil energy that is used to produce biodiesel, 3.5 units of renewable energy are returned, which is commendable and better than any other fuel out there.
What is biodiesel ultimately? Biodiesel is the fuel of the future. If we are to reduce our carbon footprint as a nation and as a whole, increasing biodiesel usage will definitely lead the fight in that.
Why Does Renewable Fuel Like Biodiesel Matter?
Even though technologies like wind and solar are helping in reducing the emissions from electricity, there isn’t anything being done about transportation emissions. That’s where biodiesel comes in.
A recent panel on climate change said that if humanity wishes to stop the 1.5-degree increase in global temperature, then it is necessary to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere by 2035.
That doesn’t give us a whole lot of time. That’s why renewable energy resources such as biodiesel are so crucial in our fight against global warming.
Not only that, but the scale of carbon emissions reduction is so massive that individual action won’t matter as much as changing infrastructure on a global level.
For example, there would be a need to reduce the consumption of 163,500,000 barrels of oil a day. The scale of this problem is massive.
It will not be fixed with the same kind of thinking that bought us here.
Global warming and sustainable human growth in the future requires alternative forms of thinking. And alternative energy resources like biodiesel.
Leaving the World a Better Place for Your Children and Children’s Children
If you imagine that people will not be open to the idea of moving over to biodiesel because it requires a switch in their thinking and habits, then you need to remember that humanity is a guardian of this world.
Earth isn’t under humanity’s ownership, but humanity is taking care of it for future generations, for our children and grandchildren.
If you want to ensure that the future is sustainable, then renewable fuels like biodiesel will definitely play a massive role in that.
As Pope John Paul II succinctly said, “The earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.”
Biodiesel can help us reduce our carbon emission footprint with minimal modification. There couldn’t be a better biofuel out there.
The Ultimate Biofuel to Reduce Transportation Carbon Emissions
What is biodiesel? It is the biofuel that could potentially help humanity reduce transportation carbon emissions because it’s a clean-burning, renewable replacement for diesel fuel that comes from petroleum.
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