Biodiesel

With prices at the pump climbing to record highs, consumers are beginning to look for new sources of cheaper and more environmentally friendly sources of energy. As the United States continues to fight terrorism in the Middle East, there are growing concerns regarding the United States’ dependence on foreign countries such as Iraq and Iran as our source of oil. The United States should adopt alternative fuels such as biodiesel because it is cheaper to run, better for the environment, and would decrease the amount of oil imported into the United States.

Currently, the United States tops every other country in the amount of oil consumed 19,650,000 barrels per day (one barrel (bbl) is equal to 42 gallons). This figure is almost five million more barrels per day than the next closest country, the European Union. The gap to third is even more apparent with Japan consuming 5,290,000 barrels per day. To put these numbers into perspective, the amount of oil consumed by the United States accounts for roughly 25% of the oil consumed in the world (Oil). One statistic that may surprise some people is the amount of oil the United States produces. The US comes in third behind Saudi Arabia and Russia with about 8,700,000 barrels of oil produced per day (Top). To make up for the almost 11 million barrel difference, the US imports about 13 million barrels of oil per day, which is second behind only the European Union, who imports about 15.7 million (CIA).

It is estimated that the United States uses about 55 billion gallons of diesel every year, which is equal to about 1.3 billion barrels per year, or roughly 3.6 million barrels per day. Looking at these statistics, it is easy to see that diesel only makes up a very small percentage of the oil used in the United States, about 18 percent (Mello).

Most people are unclear of where diesel comes from or even how it is made. Diesel is actually made from regular crude oil through a series of refinement. The process is as follows:

Crude oil that is pumped out of the ground is composed of thousands of different hydrocarbon compounds. The carbon atoms link together in chains of different lengths, shapes and sizes. Each individual chain length or molecular size has different properties including progressively higher boiling points, so they can be separated by boiling point or distillation.

Distillation is the first major process at an oil refinery. As the crude oil is heated, different hydrocarbon compounds are separated by their boiling temperatures. The lightest components such as ethane and propane come off the top of the distillation tower. The next components, called naphtha, are used for making gasoline.

The next heavier portion of crude oil coming from the distillation tower is used to make diesel fuel. Diesel fuel contains larger hydrocarbon molecules, with more carbon atoms than gasoline. Simple distillation does not produce enough gasoline and diesel fuel, so heavier fractions of crude oil are broken into smaller compounds by thermal or catalytic cracking, or hydrocracking, to produce higher volumes of gasoline and diesel fuel. To lower the level of sulphur in the fuel, some of these fractions may be hydrotreated. Various component streams are blended to meet the required diesel fuel specifications. (How)

Diesel provides a few distinct advantages over regular gasoline. A diesel engine is much more efficient than a regular gasoline engine – usually by about 40% over similarly powered engines. An equal volume of diesel will also produce about 10-20% more energy than gasoline. This translates to increased gas mileage and more power at lower RPMs. One example is the Skoda Octavia, which boasts an impressive 53.3 miles per gallon using a 105 horsepower engine (Diesel).

Just by looking at these numbers and taking the high cost of gasoline into consideration, one would guess that the number of diesel-powered vehicles in use today would be relatively high, but only 3.4% of vehicles sold in the United States are fueled by diesel (Mello).

One of the biggest concerns about the increasing use of gasoline is the adverse effects the combustion and exhaust process have on the environment. One form of diesel – biodiesel – has all the advantages of regular diesel but drastically reduces the amount of harmful substances released into the atmosphere.

Biodiesel is a relatively new form of diesel, but it is quickly gaining popularity. The definition of biodiesel is:

Biodiesel is a diesel-like fuel derived from vegetable oil or other renewable resources. It can be made from soy or canola oil, waste cooking oil, and even animal fats. Biodiesel is made by combining the vegetable oil with alcohol [usually methanol but occasionally ethanol] in the presence of a catalyst through a process called transeterification. (Kahn)

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