Biodiesel & Energy Efficiency Margo Camilleri President American Biodiesel Buyers Club, Corp. October 20, 2012.

Biodiesel & Energy Efficiency

Margo Camilleri

PresidentAmerican Biodiesel Buyers Club, Corp.

October 20, 2012

What Is a Biofuel?

What is Biofuel?Any fuel that derives from biomass, recently living organisms or their metabolic byproducts. It can come from farming activities or recycling of plant byproducts. Biodiesel and Ethanol are both biofuels.

What is a fossil fuel?A hydrocarbon fuel, such as petroleum, which has been extracted from where it was stored in the ground; coal, oil, natural gas.

What is Biodiesel?Biodiesel (B100) is mono-alkyl esters of fatty acids (methyl or ethyl esters).

It is a raw oil that has undergone a chemical reaction called Trans-Esterification

Raw or WVO oil + Catalyst (lye) + Methanol = Biodiesel + Glycerol.

Biodiesel fuel is a diesel fuel replacement made from vegetable oils, animal fat or recycled cooking grease.

Biodiesel Basics

It can be used in most diesel engines.*

It’s a fuel that can be made from almost any vegetable oil or animal fat. Some feedstock examples are: Mustard seed oil Rapeseed oilCanola oilSoybean oilHydrogenated soybean oilPalm**Tallow/lard (animal fat) **** Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) *****.

Biodiesel Feedstock

It can provide an additional source of income to farmers who grow oilseed crops.

What Biodiesel is NOT…

Biodiesel is not the same as Ethanol. Ethanol is is made from sugar or starch and which is used in engines that run on gasoline.

Blends of biodiesel and diesel fuel: Biodiesel is often mixed with petroleum-based diesel fuel. When 20% biodiesel is blended with 80% diesel fuel, this blend is known as B20. Technically, this is petro-diesel with an additive.

Raw oils (SVO or WVO): Burning Raw oils release acrolene, a toxic chemical can cause durability problems when used in engines.

Ethanol-diesel blends: Recent developments with ethanol/diesel blends have shown some promise.

Hydrogenated and deoxygenated oils and fats: These are sometimes referred to as "renewable diesel".

Health Benefits of Biodiesel

In 2000, biodiesel became the only alternative fuel to pass the EPA-required Tier I and Tier II health effects testing under the Clean Air Act.These independent tests showed that biodiesel significantly reduces most regulated emissions and that it does not pose a threat to human health.

Economic Benefits of Biodiesel More than 75,000 American jobs are currently supported by the US biodiesel industry economy.

Biodiesel has added $4.287 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and growing…

The National Biodiesel Board estimates that for every 100 million gallons of biodiesel that is produced from algae, 16,455 jobs will be created and $1.461 billion will be added to the GDP.

Energy Security Benefits

Biodiesel allows us to utilize domestic surpluses of vegetable oils while enhancing our energy security.

Because biodiesel can be manufactured using existing industrial production capacity, and used with conventional equipment, it provides substantial opportunity for immediately addressing our energy security issues.

If the true cost of using foreign oil were imposed on the price of imported fuel, renewable fuels, such as biodiesel, probably would be the most viable option.

- For instance, in 1996, it was estimated that the military costs of securing foreign oil was $57 billion annually. Foreign tax credits accounted for another estimated $4 billion annually and environmental costs were estimated at $45 per barrel. For every billion dollars spent on foreign oil, America lost 10,000 – 25,000 jobs.*

*Source: NBB

Biodiesel Issues:It cost more than petro-diesel

Good fuel is hard to find – Very few pumps

Not every engine warranty covers biodiesel

In cold water the biodiesel may cloud or crystallize

Fuel older than 6 months can become acidic, form sediments and varnish

Fuel filters need to be changed as the petrol-diesel build-up is cleaned out by the biodiesel.

Eats away at natural rubber components (in vehicles older than 1994)

Transportation and Energy Facts

Transportation accounts for 25% of world energy demands.

Transportation is 97% dependent on petroleum.

62% of the world's oil is used in transportation each year.

Passenger transportation accounts for 70% of transportation energy consumption.* The private car has poor energy performance;

only 12% of the energy used provides momentum.

Biodiesel vs Petro Energy Balance

How do we measure? Biodiesel Energy Balance. Everything that is manufactured uses some petroleum in

the process.

How much energy does biodiesel provide as compared to the amount of fossil energy it takes to make biodiesel?

The fossil energy ratio is 5.54 for raw soy biodiesel. Biodiesel provides 5.54 times more energy than the fossil energy used to make it.

The fossil energy ratio is .83 for petro fuels. That means it takes more energy to extract and transport petroleum than the energy in the petroleum itself.

Efficiency of Sustainable Biodiesel (WVO feedstock)

Sustainable biodiesel (WVO feedstock) has an even higher level of energy efficiency than the raw oil feedstock.A post graduate study from Murdoch University found that WVO did not have any loss of energy during production. Without having to grow and pick and crush the oil, WVO uses even less petroleum than raw oil feedstock biodiesel.In another comparison, the soy-based biodiesel was 320% more efficient than petro-diesel and the WVO was 780% more efficient.Another study found that sustainable biodiesel had a Net Energy Ratio (NER) of 7.85:1. In other words, 7.85 units of energy were produced to fossil fuel consumed.

Fuel Efficiency and Biodiesel Vehicles

Hybrid Electric/biodiesel vehicles are even more energy and fuel efficient than diesel fueled vehicles.Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, a global competition calling for vehicles that were affordable, safe, desirable and achieved at least 100 miles per gallon. The 2007 winner was Team EVX from Philadelphia for their biodiesel hybrid sports car.

In 2011, Auburn University students built a solar/biodiesel hybrid

Volvo's V70 plug-in diesel hybrid concept car will take B100. It is the

first vehicle to take unblended biodiesel.

Peugeot B30 is another diesel electric hybrid concept car getting ready to be sold in Europe.

SAAB has created the “Biopower Hybrid E100. It's solar and ethanol

powered. It is the world's first fossil fuel free hybrid production

vehicle. It takes E100.

Am Bio Club Local Collection Events and Activities

Once a year we collect household waste vegetable oil to keep it out of the sewer and to educate the public about the benefits of supporting the use of biodiesel.

Saturday, November 24, 2012We are working to raise money and give grants to low income school districts and small farm owners to pay for the difference between the cost of petro-diesel and biodiesel.We are creating education fliers about how to buy, use and store biodiesel.

Resources on Energy Efficiency and Biodiesel

Ahmed, I., Decker, J. & Morris, D. (1994). How much energy does it take to make a gallon of soydiesel? Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Retrieved May 16, 2005 from http://www.carbohydrateeconomy.org/library/admin/uploadedfiles/How_Much_Energy_Does_It_Take_To_Make_A_Gallon_.pdf.Alovert, M. (2005). Biodiesel homebrew guide: Everything you need to know to make quality alternative diesel fuel out of waste restaurant fryer oil (10th ed.). Unpublished.Biodiesel: A cleaner, greener fuel for the 21st century (2003). Retrieved May 16, 2005, from http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/features/feature_template.cfm?ID=915Briggs, M. (2004). Widescale biodiesel production from algae. Retrieved May 16, 2005 from UNH Biodiesel Group: http://www.unh.edu/p2/biodiesel/article_alge.html.Estill, L. (2004, spring/summer). Biodiesel: How “grow your own” has taken on a whole new meaning. Private Power Magazine, 1(1), 16-22.Estill, L. (2004, March 27). Energy Balance.Pimentel, D. (2003). Ethanol fuels: Energy balance, economics, and environmental impacts are negative [Electronic version]. Natural Resources Research, 12(2) 127-134. Retrieved May 16, 2005 from http://acfa.org.sg/library/EthanolfuelsEnergyBalance,Economics,andEnvironmentalImpactsareNegative.pdfProperties of Fuels (2005). Retrieved May 25, 2005 from http://www.methanol.org/pdfFrame.cfm?pdf=fuels.pdfRichards, I.R. (2000). Energy balances in the growth of oilseed rape for biodiesel and of wheat for bioethanol. Retrieved May 17, 2005 from http://www.biodiesel.co.uk/Levington.htm.Sheehan, J., Camobreco, V., Duffield, J., Graboski, M., & Shapouri, H. (1998). An overview of biodiesel and petroleum diesel life cycles. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Golden, Colorado. Retrieved May 16, 2005 from http://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/fy98/24772.pdfLatest Study Shows Ethanol Generates More Energy Than It Takes to Produce (2005). Retrieved May 16, 2005 from http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=27864