What is the biodegradability of Biodiesel?
Biodiesel has desirable degradation attributes which make it the fuel of choice for environmentally conscious users. Studies at the University of Idaho, compared the biodegradation of biodiesel in an aqueous solution to diesel fuel and dextrose (sugar). Biodiesel samples degraded more rapidly than sugar, and were 95 percent degraded at the end of 28 days. Normal petroleum based diesel fuel was only about 40 percent degraded after the same 28 day test period. Blending biodiesel with regular petroleum based diesel fuel also accelerates the blended fuel’s overall biodegradability. For example, blends of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel fuel (B20) degraded twice as fast as petroleum diesel. 100 percent pure biodiesel degrades as fast as sugar and a 20 percent blend will degrade twice as fast as petroleum based diesel fuel.
