Why Biodiesel?
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Domestically produced (helps US farmers)
Reduction in pollution
It is a renewable resource
Simple production process
Works in existing infrastructure
– Today’s cars and trucks
– Today’s distribution system
– Today’s filling stations
Rudolph Diesel
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1858 – Born in Paris
1879 – Graduated from Munich Polytechnic
1880 – Began work as a refrigeration engineer
1885-1895 – Designed several heat engines, working toward more efficiency
than steam engines
1893 – Patented the “Diesel” engine – his first diesel engines ran on peanut oil
– he hoped to enable “common folk,” not just “Oil and Coal Barons,” to
produce fuel
1913 – Disappeared en route to England – his body was later found in English
Channel – conspiracy theories abound
Diesel Engine Milestones
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By 1919, Clessie Cummins had obtained rights to manufacture diesel engines
in the U.S. and made many improvements such as better fuel injection
1920s – The Oil Barons Strike Back – Introduced petroleum “diesel fuel”
and encouraged engine modifications to use its lower viscosity characteristics
(better cold weather performance)
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1970s – Emergence of OPEC power – First oil crisis
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Sudden American interest in fuel efficiency created a major diesel engine
market in the U.S.
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Today’s diesel engines are inherently 20% to 40% more fuel efficient than
their gasoline counterparts (that’s why most trucks use them)
Biodiesel Problems
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Problem: Cold weather properties (viscosity, cloud point,
gel point): Less tolerant of cold than petroleum diesel
– Solution: Use in combination with petroleum diesel,
and/or use an anti-gel agent
Problem: Solvent properties: Dissolves petroleum diesel
residues & crud – can clog fuel filter of old engines until
system is clean
– Solution: Change fuel filters frequently during transition
Problem: Fuel line incompatibility in older cars
– Solution: Replace natural rubber with “Viton” synthetic parts
Problem: Price: B100 sells for around $2-$4 per gallon
– Solution: Make your own or join a coop
Problem: Accessibility: Harder to find that regular diesel
– Solution: Wait a bit - slowly improving
How safe is biodiesel?
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Biodiesel has completed the rigorous Health Effects testing requirements of
the Clean Air Act. Results show that Biodiesel reduces carcinogenic air toxics
by 75-90% compared to diesel.
(source: http://www.distributiondrive.com/FAQ.html)
Pure Biodiesel (B100) is nontoxic, biodegradable and essentially free of
sulfur.
Flash point – The temperature to which the fuel must be heated before it will
ignite when exposed to a spark or flame.
By comparison, Gasoline evaporates easily
– Petroleum Diesel = 60-80ºC
at room temp which leads to both an easier
– Biodiesel = 100-170ºC
(unsafe) ignition *and* more air pollution
– Gasoline = -40ºC
from
spills/leaks.
More than
2 minutes
to get it fully burning
Biodiesel & air pollution
Findings of government study "Life Cycle Inventory of Biodiesel and Petroleum
Diesel for Use in an Urban Bus":
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Lifecycle Emission:
– Biodiesel reduces net emissions of CO2 by 78.45% compared to
petroleum diesel
– Total particulate matter reduced by 32%,
– Carbon monoxide reduced by 35%
– Sulfur oxides reduced 8%
– NOx increase by 13.35% over fuel lifecycle
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Tailpipe Emissions:
– Particulates less than 10 microns in size are 68% lower
– Carbon monoxide are 46% lower
– Sulfur oxides are completely eliminated
– NOx increase by 8.89% at tailpipe
(source: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/fy98/24089.pdf)
Biodiesel & CO2 Emissions
Model
City/Highway MPG
Life Cycle CO2 tons/year
VW Jetta 2L Gasoline
23/30
7.4
VW Jetta TDI 1.9L
PetroDiesel
32/43
5.8
VW Jetta TDI 1.9L B20
BioDiesel
32/43
4.9
VW Jetta TDI 1.9L
B100 BioDiesel
32/43
1.3
2004 Toyota Prius
60/51
3.5
2004 Ford Explorer 4L
2WD
16/21
10.7
Life Cycle Comparison to gasoline and other fuels – Fleet CO2 emissions using:
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B100:
7 lbs/gallon
• Ethanol:
11 lbs/gallon
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B20:
23 lbs/gallon
• Methanol:
19.6 lbs/gallon
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Diesel:
28 lbs/gallon
• LPG:
13 lbs/gallon
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Gasoline:
24 lbs/gallon
source: http://travelmatters.org/calculator/transit/methodology
Where does biodiesel come from?
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Like all life on earth, Biodiesel starts with photosynthesis
Photosynthesis occurs in plant leaves, phytoplankton, and algae:
Carbon Dioxide + Water + Sunlight >>> Glucose + Oxygen
CO2
+ H2O + Energy >>> C6H12O6 + O2
Photosynthesis is the same in all plants, but then…
Each plant has its own recipes for converting
glucose to other substances such as
carbohydrates, proteins, & fats (oils)
Biodiesel is all in the fat!
Petroleum also (it’s just Jurassic fat!)
Some plants produce lots of fat – For
example: olives, avocados, walnuts,
soybeans, peanuts, corn and canola
Where Does Biodiesel Go?
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All fuels and foods are consumed in Combustion or Metabolism
(the reverse of photosynthesis)
Carbon-based Fuel + Oxygen >>> Carbon Dioxide + Water + Heat
e.g. CH4 + O2 >>> CO2 + H2O + Energy
Using Fossil fuels releases carbon that was sequestered millions of years ago
In contrast, the Biodiesel life cycle releases carbon that was sequestered during
recent months (it’s a renewable fuel)
Organic Chemistry 101
(The chemistry of carbon)
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Water (point of reference)
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Methanol (Methyl Alcohol)
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Ethanol (Ethyl Alcohol)
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Isopropyl Alcohol
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Glycerol (Glycerin )
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In Biodiesel, Methanol/Ethanol and Glycerol
are very important
Organic Chemistry 101
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Most fat is triglycerides: Triesters of fatty acids and glycerol
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Esters & Free Fatty Acids
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Saturated, Monounsaturated, and Polyunsaturated fats
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Esterification - converting Free Fatty Acids to Esters
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Transesterification – transferring the esters from
glycerin to methanol or ethanol
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Methyl Esters (most Biodiesel)
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Ethyl Esters
Copyright 2006 Brevard Biodiesel
Composition of soy oil & soy esters
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8% with 16 carbon atoms (aka "Palmitic Acid")
3% with 18 carbon atoms (aka "Stearic Acid")
25% with 18 carbon atoms and 1 double bond (aka "Oleic Acid")
55% with 18 carbon atoms and 2 double bonds (aka "Linoleic Acid")
8% with 18 carbon atoms and 3 double bonds (aka "Linolenic Acid")
• Most vegetable oils contain Omega-6 fatty acids (first double bond
between 6th & 7th carbon atom from the end
• Fish oils and Flax seed contain Omega-3 fatty acids
Biodiesel Acronyms
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SVO – Straight Vegetable Oil
– You can burn straight vegetable oil in many diesel engines
– Must heat it to about 150º before injecting into combustion chamber
WVO – Waste Vegetable Oil (SVO that you get from a dumpster)
Soy Esters – Biodiesel made from Soybeans
Rapeseed Esters – Biodiesel made from Rapeseed
Due to its high cost and limited availability, biodiesel fuel is often sold in mixtures with
petroleum diesel (affectionately known as “Dinodiesel”)
– B100 = 100% Biodiesel
– B20 = 20% Biodiesel mixed with 80% Dinodiesel
– B2 = 2% Biodiesel mixed with 98% Dinodiesel (just to improve lubricity)
– Biodiesel’s lubricity is far better than petroleum diesel, especially compared with
low-sulfur petroleum diesel that will be mandated in the U.S. beginning in 2006.
Its use can extend the lives of diesel engines
How Much Biodiesel Do We Need?
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Each year in the U.S., transportation consumes:
– 60 billion gallons of petroleum diesel
– 120 billion gallons of gasoline
About 75% is used by trucking/transportation
The remainder is used for heating oil, railroads, construction, and other things
Estimates indicate that there is enough waste vegetable oil to replace about 5%
of the diesel fuel consumed in the U.S.
Available agricultural land might increase this to 15%
That’s still not much fuel when you consider that diesel
consumption is just a fraction of gasoline consumption
So we need to explore algae production (A UNH estimate
shows that as little as 10 million acres of algae could
produce enough fuel for all U.S. transportation needs
(Brevard County is almost 1 million acres)
Another potential technology: Waste-to-Oil (as reported
in Discover Magazine, July 2004)
Biodiesel Links
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www.brevardbiodiesel.org
www.biodieselnow.com
www.journeytoforever.org
www.tdiclub.com
www.biodiesel.org
http://www.discover.com/issues/jul-04/features/anything-into-oil/
http://www.changingworldtech.com/