BIODIESEL FUEL IS BETTER
FOR OUR COUNTRY

Biodiesel is America's homegrown, clean air alternative to imported petroleum.

Biodiesel can be produced from domestic renewable resources including vegetable oils and recycled restaurant grease. Pure biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with no major modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulphur and aromatics.

Virgin vegetable oil used for the manufacture of biodiesel can be harvested from many oil feedstock plants like soybeans, sunflower seeds, rape seeds, palm oil and even some types of algae. Recycled vegetable oil from local restaurants and other used sources are also a useful reservoir of renewable fuel for diesel engines as approximately 4.5 billion gallons per year of used vegetable oil is available in the USA.

The concept of using vegetable oil as a fuel dates back to 1895 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the first diesel engine to run on vegetable oil. He demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and described an experiment using peanut oil as fuel in his engine.

The overall smog forming potential from biodiesel hydrocarbon emissions is nearly 50% less than that measured for ordinary diesel fuel.

Biodiesel keeps more fuel $$ at home

Unlike imported petroleum, money spent on biodiesel stays in this country to pay for the domestic feedstock or recycled grease used to manufacture it. When dollars are spent in our domestic economy, a multiplier effect is created which contributes to job creation and the overall economic security of each of us.

Economic Benefits

Increased utilization of renewable biofuels results in significant microeconomic benefits to both the urban and rural sectors, and the balance of trade. A study completed in 2001 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that an average annual increase of the equivalent of 200 million gallons of soy-based biodiesel demand would boost total crop cash receipts by $5.2 billion cumulatively by 2010, resulting in an average net farm income increase of $300 million per year. The price for a bushel of soybeans would increase by an average of 17 cents annually during the ten-year period.

Energy Security Benefits

With agricultural commodity prices approaching record lows, and petroleum prices approaching record highs, it is clear that more can be done 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.

Biodiesel promotes energy independence

Biodiesel leads to a healthier future

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