This is our guide to biodiesel resources in the DC metropolitan region. To start, we have a few commonly asked questions and their answers regarding biodiesel. If you would like to participate in learning and using biodiesel then consider joining us, it's free.
- What is biodiesel?
- Is biodiesel a renewable resource?
- Why is it important to know about biodiesel?
- Can you use biodiesel in your car?
- Does biodiesel address the issue of being Carbon Neutral?
- What about making biodiesel from freshly squeezed things?
- So why make biodiesel from used vegetable oil?
- How much waste cooking oil is out there?
- What are the current waste disposal methods for used cooking oil?
- Why would you want to use biodiesel?
- Is biodiesel the same thing as ethanol?
- What are the pros and cons of biodiesel?
- Has the President of the US weighed in on biodiesel?
- Do you have any fun facts about biodiesel?
Biodiesel is an alternative fuel made from virgin vegetable oil or from used cooking oil. Sometimes used oil is called Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO), because it is oil made from vegetation and is often discarded. Biodiesel is not limited to vegetable oil, animal fats like beef tallow and fish oil can also be used to make biodiesel fuel.
Unlike fossil fuels, biodiesel is renewable. Sometimes this renewable fuel is mixed with the non-renewable fossil fuel. In cold weather pure biodiesel may be blended with conventional diesel to lower it's gel point. Biodiesel will thicken in near freezing weather and so it is often blended with regular diesel to keep it a liquid state. You may buy biodiesel called B2 (2% biodiesel and 98% conventional diesel) or B20 (20% biodiesel) or even B100 (100% biodiesel).
Biodiesel is non-toxic, biodegradable and creates less air pollution than petroleum diesel. It is less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as fast as sugar. It is an untapped resource for fuel alternatives.
If you car has sparkplugs and runs on gasoline, then no, you cannot use biodiesel. In conventional diesel vehicles blends of a maximum of 20% biodiesel and 80% regular diesel can be burned. However, some owners after changing hoses and fuel filters have been able to use 100% biodiesel. Most of the newer diesel engines can now handle biodiesel on their own (check your owner’s manual please). There are also aftermarket kits available to modify your old diesel engine to handle straight biodiesel.
According to the EPA, biodiesel derived from feed crops like soybeans and canola, while not carbon neutral, is pretty darn close.
When using fresh, new feedstock, as opposed to used oil, almost 90% comes from rapeseed or soybean oil, Other virgin oils that can be used are oils from mustard seed, flax, sunflower, canola, palm oil, hemp, and even algae. Showing promise due to new research, animal fats can be used in the production of biodiesel including tallow, lard, yellow grease, chicken fat, and the by-products of the production of Omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil.
Making biodiesel from virgin oils such as canola or soybeans is not ideal. The crucial point here is that most veggie oil is thrown into the trash, dumped down drains, and into the municipal sewer systems. If the waste could be recovered, it would not not radically shift the demand of automobile consumption. But it would educate individuals into understanding how to control the ecological impact of our consumption.
In cities where restaurants, cafés, and cafeterias are abundant, waste cooking oil can be harvested from restaurants as an "urban crop" instead of using virgin soybean oil. (see the Biodiesel Committee's plan for Stage III)
Large amounts! Hotels and restaurants in the United States generate 3 billion gallons of waste cooking oil per year. This amount could fill tanker trucks arranged bumper-to-bumper from San Francisco to Washington D.C. and back. The waste cooking oils of Manhattan, New York City could be converted to run the entire public bus system.
Currently, some restaurants are required to collect the grease in traps and pay to have it hauled off by a renderer. Some of the grease is used to supplement feed for farms; however, a lot ends up in landfills. Where grease traps are not required, restaurants and cafes may dump their used cooking oil down the drain where it often causes build-ups and blockages in municipal sewer pipes.
It depends on a variety of factors such as fuel price, environmental sensitivity, type of transportation device, etc. We believe that by making this resource guide available to you, you will then be better informed to decide on your choice of fuels and vehicles.
Biodiesel is not ethanol. They are both alternate fuels, but they are derived in different ways. Biodiesel is derived from waste cooking oils or from virgin oils. Ethanol is produced from sugars, or by digesting starch, then fermented into alchohol, and then distilled. Ethanol is rarely produced from a waste feedstock like biodiesel.
Biodiesel is made from a renewable resource. It can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by upwards of 75 percent. Biodiesel is cleaner than regular diesel. It can lubricate the motor, making the engine quieter. Biodiesel from canola oil is carbon neutral. (The amount of carbon used by the plant that produces canola oil is equal to the amount of carbon released upon its use as a fuel). Using biodiesel can help reduce dependence on foreign oil.
Alternative fuels get fewer miles to the gallon. Biodiesel can be pricier ($3 per gallon and up) than gasoline. There are issues with cold-weather gelling that can arise if a vehicle is unequiped with an in line fuel-filter, or is using unblended biodiesel during cold weather.
“Biodiesel is one of our nation's most promising alternative fuel sources. And by developing biodiesel, you're making this country less dependent on foreign sources of oil.†- President George W. Bush remarks at Virginia Biodiesel Refinery May, 2005
In some countries, filling stations sell biodiesel cheaper than conventional diesel.
Older diesel Mercedes are popular for conversions to biodiesel or waste vegetable oil.
There are 87 biodiesel plants across the country, including one in Berlin, Maryland , on the Eastern Shore.
There are currently only nine biodiesel retail fueling sites in Maryland.
Every hour there is enough waste grease produced in the United States to fill 130 tanker trucks.