What is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is an clean burning, alternative fuel, produced from renewable resources.

Is biodiesel used as a fuel on its own, or as an additive in regular diesel?

Biodiesel can be used in its pure form, B100, in any diesel engine. Occasionally, biodiesel is blended with petroleum diesel (ex. B20- 20% biodiesel & 80% petroleum diesel) for different climate conditions. Biodiesel has also been proven to significantly reduce engine emissions when compared to petroleum diesel

Is biodiesel safe to use as an alternative fuel?

Biodiesel must undergo stringent testing and follow guidlines set forth by the American Standard for Testing & Materials under ASTM D6751-06e1 “Standard Specification for Biodiesel Fuel Blend Stock (B100) for Middle Distillate Fuels”. Most original equipment manufactures (OEM) approve the use of biodiesel in their engines up to and including a B20 mix. However, countless independent studies and pilot programs indicate that B100 is safe to use. Although, OEM’s have not concluded their own independent studies to warranty pure B100 biodiesel use.

What are the benefits of using biodiesel?

• Drastic reduction in engine emissions
• Low cost fuel compared to that of petroleum diesel
• Increases to engines life, due to increased lubricity
• Creates an independence from foreign oil imports
• Government tax incentives
• It is produced from renewable domestic resources & contributes to our economy

What other alternative uses are there for biodiesel?

• home heating oil
• lubricity additive for diesel fuel
• adhesive remover
• mold release agent
• asphalt cleanup agent
• oil spill cleanup and bioremediation agent
• auto wax remover
• corrosion preventative
• parts cleaner and degreaser
• graffiti remover
• paint and resin cleanup
• hand cleaner
• crop adjuvant
• metal working lubricant
• screen printing ink remover

Additional Information

Acute Oral Toxicity/Rates
Biodiesel is nontoxic. The acute oral LD 50 (lethal dose) is greater than 17.4 g/Kg body weight. By comparison table salt (NaCl) is nearly 10 times more toxic.

Skin Irritation–Humans
A 24-hour-human-patch test indicated that undiluted biodiesel produced very mild irritation. The irritation was less than the result produced by a 4% soap and water solution.

Aquatic Toxicity
A 96-hour lethal concentration for bluegill of biodiesel grade methyl esters was greater than 1000 mg/L. Lethal concentrations at these levels are generally deemed insignificant according to NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) guidelines in its Registry of the Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances.

Biodegradability
Biodiesel degrades about four times faster than petroleum diesel. Within 28 days, pure biodiesel degrades 85 to 88 percent in water. Dextrose, a test sugar used as the positive control when testing biodegradability, degraded at the same rate. Blending biodiesel with diesel fuel accelerates its biodegradability. For example, blends of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel fuel degrade twice as fast as Number 2 diesel alone.

Flash Point
The flash point of a fuel is defined as the lowest temperature at which the vapor above a combustible liquid can be made to ignite in air. Biodiesel’s flash point is over 260-deg Fahrenheit, well above petroleum based diesel fuel’s flash point of around 125-deg Fahrenheit. Testing has shown the flash point of biodiesel blends increases as the percentage of biodiesel increases. Therefore, biodiesel blends of biodiesel with petroleum diesel are safer to store, handle, and use than conventional diesel fuel.