Bio diesel
Bio diesel
Biodiesel is a biodegradable, clean-burning alternative fuel produced from renewable resources, capable of delivering greenhouse gas (GHG) savings ranging from at least 60% up to 94% or more compared to its fossil equivalent.
The most used feedstocks for biodiesel production are:
- Vegetable oils
Rapeseed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, palm oil ecc.
- Waste & by–product
Used Cooking Oils (UCO), free fatty acids (FFA), animal fats, food waste ecc.
Types of biodiesel:
• RME – Rapeseed Methyl Ester
Produced mainly in Europe from rapeseed (canola) oil. Good cold flow properties, widely used in B7 and B100 blends.
• SME – Soy Methyl Ester
Common in North & South America, derived from soybean oil. Slightly weaker winter performance than RME but readily available due to large-scale soy production.
• PME – Palm Methyl Ester
Primarily from Malaysia and Indonesia. Very efficient crop yield, but poor cold performance, so mostly used in tropical regions or blended fuels.
• FAME – Fatty Acid Methyl Ester
General category for biodiesel produced via transesterification from any vegetable oil or animal fat. All other entries below are technically subtypes of FAME.
• UCOME – Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester
Made from recycled used cooking oil. Classified as a waste-based biodiesel and highly favored under EU sustainability schemes (RED II / ISCC).
• TME – Tallow Methyl Ester
Derived from animal fats (tallow). Another waste-based option with strong GHG reduction, though higher CFPP (cloud point) makes it less suitable in colder climates unless blended.
• POME / OME – Palm Oil Mill Effluent Methyl Ester
Produced from palm oil waste effluent, not fresh palm oil. Considered advanced/waste-based biodiesel with better sustainability credentials than standard PME.
• Advanced FAME (0° CFPP)
A refined or winterized biodiesel blend designed to meet 0°C Cold Filter Plugging Point, making it suitable for moderate climate regions. Typically based on waste or high-performance feedstocks processed to improve cold resistance.
Benefits for using Biodiesel
- Biodiesel contains no fossil fuel
- It can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend.
- Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, non-toxic, and, if pure and unadditivated, essentially free of sulphur and aromatics
- Is safe to transport and is not considered a hazardous material
- It is more lubricating than diesel fuel, it increases the engine life and can be used in place of sulfur
- It powers any conventional, unmodified diesel engine
- Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced (including CO2), as well as carbon monoxide (CO) emissions and emissions of particles and other polluting products.
- Biodiesel can be used as a pure fuel or blended with petroleum in any percentage. In Italy is blended at a rate of 7% biodiesel more or less into almost all diesel sold.
- It can also be used in most modern diesel engines without modification, including those in passenger cars, sport utility vehicles, light trucks, buses, ships, trains, off-road heavy equipment and mining equipment, as well as for home heating fuel, power generation and in two-stroke engines (as a mixing agent).
Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerine is separated from the fat or vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two products:
- methyl esters (the chemical name for biodiesel)
- glycerine (a by-product usually sold to be used in soaps and other products)
100% biodiesel must meet EU quality standard EN 14214
The recast directive 2018/2001/EU
The energy sector is responsible for more than 75% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing the share of renewable energy across the different sectors of the economy is therefore a key building block to achieving an integrated energy system that delivers on Europe’s ambition of climate neutrality.
In Europe, the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) stipulates that renewable energy
should have a minimum 20% share in transport by 2020 and that this energy should come
from sustainable feedstocks. This has resulted in a greater amount of RED certified
biodiesel becoming available in the market. Now RED sets rules for the EU to achieve its 32% renewables target by 2030.
The double counting market in EU
The Renewable Energy Directive (RED 2009/28/CE) states that waste-based biofuels can be counted twice in the calculation of the shares of renewable energies in transport.
The double counting system encourages the use of second-generation waste-based biofuels produced from such feedstocks as Used Cooking Oil or Animal Fat CAT 1 and 2 (not intended for consumption). As these raw materials represent a great savings potential regarding GHG emissions and considerable environmental advantages forthe production of biofuels, most of the EU member states have decided to establish the inciting double counting system.
In terms of storage, handling and distribution, biodiesel is as safe as diesel, and it has a much higher ignition point. Biodiesel can be safely stored without degrading for up to six months to keep for longer than that stabilising additives are needed.
The biodiesel and renewable diesel industry is on the “RISE”. The National Biodiesel Board hosted more than 550 biodiesel and renewable diesel producers, distributors, retailers, and other industry advocates virtually to share the direction of the industry now and in the future.
Throughout the conference, industry leaders shared how they intend to keep momentum rising in the next decade to meet NBB’s Vision of six billion gallons by 2030.
Legend:
*Feedstock- is a material that is used to produce something in an industrial process
*Biodegradable- refers to the ability of things to get disintegrated (decomposed) by the action of micro-organisms such as bacteria or fungi biological (with or without oxygen) while getting assimilated into the natural environment. There’s no ecological harm during the process.