Have you ever wondered how biodiesel works?
Oil is one of the commodities that we all rely on every day of our lives. Whether it’s for transport or heating, the availability of oil affects us all. Things like politics, geography, history and economic conditions are now affecting the availability of fuel.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, there is a good chance you will have heard somebody talk about fuel or fuel prices, whether it’s on the news or in person.
So what are we going to do as fuel becomes more and more scarce? Some ideas that have been suggested so far include; hydrogen oil cells and electronic cars.
However, rather than using fossil fuels to create oil we can use organic ingredients to produce biofuels. Depending on the production method and the blend of oil that is being produced, animal fat, soybeans and corn are the main ingredients in biofuels.
The main biofuel is biodiesel. See how biodiesel works below.
Generally speaking, the main ingredients for biodiesel are produced from agriculture and recycling. Therefore, biodiesel is a renewable resource that is non-toxic. Through a sequence of chemical reactions, the fuel is typically prepared from animal fat or vegetable oils. Instead of using oil, biodiesel is prepared from organic ingredients and can be added to standard diesel or can be used in its natural form.
The percentage of the blend of biodiesel can be seen on its label. For example, a blend with 80% standard diesel and 20% biodiesel will be referred to as B20. Natural biodiesel is referred to as B100. However, it is rare to come across 100% biodiesel. Diesel engines do not need any modifications to use biodiesel, as it is completely harmless. Therefore, using biodiesel is one way you can save the environment and reduce the worldwide strain on crude oil. That’s how biodiesel works.