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 promotes energy independence

The use of domestically produced biodiesel can displace imports of petroleum and reduce our national dependence on foreign oil. 

Since the advent of energy efficient farming and organic permaculture, especially since the oil shock of 1979, American agriculture is less reliant today than in the past on the use of petroleum based fertilizers and pesticides. In large part because of these developments, fewer and fewer petroleum byproducts are needed to cultivate domestic seed stocks used to produce biodiesel. 

Although it is in our national interest to further reduce the use of petrochemicals on the farm, the largest investment of petroleum derived energy in domestic agriculture comes from coal, which is relatively abundant within the United States and which seldom requires importation from abroad.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1998 performed the prevailing life cycle study of the energy balance of biodiesel. This is the most comprehensive, credible and thoroughly peer-reviewed study available on biodiesel produced from soybeans. It found that for every one unit of fossil energy used in this entire biodiesel production cycle, 3.2 unit of energy are gained when the fuel is burned, or a positive energy balance of 320 percent.

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 annuallyand environmental costs were estimated at $45 per barrel. For every billion dollars spent on foreign oil, America lost 10,000 – 25,000 jobs.

American Trucking Associations Supports Five Percent Biodiesel Blend

Alexandria, VA – The American Trucking Associations’ Board of Directors revised ATA’s alternative fuels policy to advocate the use of biodiesel in blends up to 5 percent as part of the national diesel fuel standard.  

The new policy serves as one part of the organization’s efforts to combat rising fuel prices and help shape a comprehensive national energy plan. 

 “We need to look at all options for extending the supply of diesel fuel,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “Biodiesel represents an important part of a long-term energy plan designed to increase the nation’s fuel supply and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

Biodiesel keeps more fuel $$ at home

Biodiesel leads to a healthier future

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