Patriot BioFuels FAQ

What is biodiesel?

Biodiesel is diesel fuel produced from domestic renewable resources that can be manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled restaurant greases. Biodiesel is safe, biodegradable and reduces serious air pollutants such as particulates, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and air toxins. Biodiesel can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend.

How is biodiesel made?

Fats and oils are chemically reacted with an alcohol (methanol is the usual choice) to produce chemical compounds known as fatty acid methyl esters. Biodiesel is the name given to these esters when they’re intended for use as fuel. Glycerol (used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, among other uses) is produced as a coproduct.

Once the methyl ester is captured, certain additives are injected to bring the biodiesel to an ASTM certification level, which is required to make it suitable for use on America’s highways.

What are the benefits of using biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a substitute or extender for traditional petroleum diesel. Special pumps or high-pressure equipment for fueling are not needed. It can be used in conventional diesel engines. No special engines need to be purchased to use the blend.

Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act. The use of biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine results in a substantial reduction of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter compared with emissions from diesel fuel. In addition, the exhaust emissions of sulfur oxides and sulfates (major components of acid rain) from biodiesel are essentially eliminated compared with diesel.

Since biodiesel is made in the United States from renewable resources, such as animal fat and soybeans, its use decreases dependence on foreign oil and contributes to the American economy.

Can biodiesel help mitigate “global warming”?

Biodiesel is the best greenhouse gas mitigation strategy for today’s medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. A 1998 biodiesel lifecycle study, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, concluded that biodiesel reduces net carbon dioxide emissions by 78 percent compared with petroleum diesel. This is due to biodiesel’s closed carbon cycle. The CO2 released into the atmosphere when biodiesel is burned is recycled by growing plants, which are later processed into fuel.