What is biodiesel?
A. Biodiesel is a biodegradable, combustible liquid fuel derived from vegetable oils or animal fats that meets American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications D6751 and is suitable for blending with diesel fuel oil for use in internal combustion diesel engines. Biodiesel can be produced from both new and used vegetable oil and animal oil. This means that used cooking grease from restaurants and factories, oils from animal fats, and virgin vegetable oil can all be used to produce biodiesel through a relatively simple process.
Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative fuel produced from vegetable oils and animal fats through a chemical reaction and meeting ASTM D 6751. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with heating oil. It can be used in home heating oil systems safely with no modifications to the fuel tanks, pumps or burners in concentrations up to 5% biodiesel with only minimal precautions (see conditions for use section). For Bioheat fuel blends between 6% and 20%, minor changes (including a pump with proper seals) may be required. For higher Bioheat fuel blends than 20% biodiesel, special precautions are needed (see materials compatibility). Pure biodiesel is also referred to as B100. In the transportation fuel market where ASTM D 975 is the standard for petroleum-based diesel, biodiesel blends are designated BXX, where XX is the volume percent of biodiesel meeting ASTM D 6751 with conventional petro diesel. B20, which is 20% biodiesel and 80% petro diesel, is a common bl
Biodiesel is a clean-burning, renewable fuel made from vegetable oils, animal fats and recycled cooking oil and greases. Vegetable oils such as rapeseed, canola, soybean and palm oil are the most common raw material for commercial-scale biodiesel production. Biodiesel has physical and chemical properties similar to conventional petroleum-based diesel. The specification for biodiesel fuel is ASTM D6751. The manufacturing process for biodiesel converts oils and fats into fatty acid methyl esters, which is commonly referred to as biodiesel. Biodiesel is produced by chemically reacting non-petroleum oils or fats with a methanol or other short chain alcohol in the presence of a catalyst such as potassium hydroxide or sodium methlyate. This chemical reaction is known as transesterification.
Biodiesel is a clean-burning alternative fuel produced from domestic, renewable resources such as new and used vegetable oils and animal fats. Making biodiesel involves a process that removes glycerin from bio-oils so they can be used in diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles or can be blended with conventional petroleum diesel. For more information, see the U.S. Department of Energy Alternative Fuel Data Center or National Biodiesel Board Web sites.
A. Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from 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 little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. The official definition of biodiesel consistent with other federal and state laws and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) guidelines is as follows: Biodiesel is defined as mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats which conform to ASTM D6751 specifications in the United States and EN 14214 in Europe for use in diesel engines. Biodiesel refers to the pure fuel before blending with diesel fuel. Biodiesel blends are denoted as, “BXX” with “XX” representing the percentage of biodiesel contained in the blend (ie: B20 is 20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum
