BIODIESEL

The history of biodiesel started in 1892 with the invention of the Diesel engine. Developed by Rudolph Diesel as a way to counter the monopoly of the steam engine, it remains today the thermal engine with the highest efficiency . Born in Paris from German parents in 1858, the thermal engineer Rudolph Diesel improved his prime model to unveil in 1897 his first engine suitable for practical use. Using the technology of transesterification of vegetable oils conducted since the middle of the century, he displayed his invention, fueled with peanut oil, three years later at the World Exhibition in Paris. Diesel believed biomass fuel to be viable alternative to the resource consuming steam engine. Vegetable oils were used in Diesel engines until the 20's when an alteration was made to the engine, enabling it to use a residue of petroleum, what is now known as No:2 Diesel fuel. Belgian patent 4223873 granted on Aug 31, 1937, to G. Chavanne (from the University of Brussels) constituted the first report on what is known as biodiesel, today. The report describes the use of ethyl esters of palm oil as Diesel fuel. These esters were obtained by acid-catalyzed transesterification of the oil.The petroleum industry grew rapidly after the death of Rudolph Diesel in 1913, in parallel with internal combustion engine technology. Thus, vegetable oil was forgotten as a clean renewable source of power in the postwar period until concerns rose regarding high petroleum prices in the 70’s. Two oil shocks, in 1973 and 1979, shortening the oil supply from the Middle East, led the prices to reach unseen levels. These events made governments around the world aware of the deep consequences of heavy dependence on foreign fossil fuels, and, along with the signature of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, increased the public conscientiousness of the potential of biofuels for the future. Thus, the irony of history gives biomass fuels such as, bioethanol and biodiesel a second chance, retrieving today the bright prospective their pioneer Rudolph Diesel and Henry Ford wanted to offer them originally.

Since the beginning of 1990’s, biodiesel has been extensively tested by government agencies, university researchers and private industry in the United States, Canada and Europe. ASTM and EN standards were prepared in 2001 and 2002, respectively, and found a wide commercial application area around the world. Today, biodiesel is most important first generation engine biofuel.World biodiesel production was 4.6 Million ton/year (2005; EU:2.9 Million ton/year ).

Biodiesel is an oxygenated fuel that is produced by transesterifying triglycerides such as animal fats or vegetable oils with alcohol in the presence of a base or acid catalyst  Any source of complex fatty acid can be used to create biodiesel and glycerin. Today, soybeans, rapeseed (or its cousin, canola oil), corn, used cooking oil, tallow, forest wastes, and sugar cane are common resources for the complex fatty acids and their byproduct, biofuels.

Biodiesel can be produced from following feedstocks:

• Vegetable oils such as soybean, canola, sunflower oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, mustard oil, palm oil, etc.
• Animal fats such as beef tallow or pork lard
• Restaurant waste oils such as frying oils/used cooking oils.
• Trap grease (from restaurant grease traps), float grease (from waste water treatment plants) etc.
• Edible oil technology byproducts such as acid oil and soapstock.
• Bleching earth, used in the bleaching unit of vegetable oil refining, can be a feedstock choice for biodiesel production.

There are four basic routes to produce biodiesel from oils and fats:

• Base catalyzed transesterification of the oil with alcohol
• Direct acid catalyzed esterification of the oil with methanol
• Conversion of the oil to its fatty acids, and then to alkyl esters with acid catalysis.
• Enzymatic esterification of the oil.

Biodiesel has a long list of advantages, which are listed below :

• There is no need for further modifications for its use in conventional Diesel engines.
• Its performance in Diesel engines is comparable to that of No:2 Diesel fuel.
• It may be blended with No:2 Diesel fuel in any proportion.
• It is obtained from renewable sources, such as vegetable oils.
• It allows agricultural countries to become less dependent on oil.
• It has high lubricity and minimizes the wearing of the engine.
• It produces much less toxic exhaust emissions than Diesel oil.
• It requires no change in fuel dispensing infrastructure.
• It does not substantially affect fuel consumption or torque.
• It greatly reduces visible smoke during ignition.
• It is rapidly biodegradable (comparable to dextrose).
• It is approximately 10 times less toxic than ordinary table salt (NaCl).
• Its transport and storage is safe given its very high flash point.
• It can be produced from widely adopted plantations like soy bean.
• It contains no sulfur, allowing the use of exhaust emission catalysts.
• The associated investment projects are a good source of employment.
• It allows the rural producer to be more self sufficient regarding fuel.

Biodiesel can be found in three different forms in the market:

B2 – B5 (2-5 % Biodiesel + 95-98 % No:2 Diesel fuel)  : As an additive
B20 (20 % Biodiesel + 80 % No:2 Diesel fuel)             : As a blend component
B100    (100 % Biodiesel)                                        : As a pure-neat fuel.