Fossil fuels are one of the fastest depleting nonrenewable resources. They are also one of the most needed resources in order for the majority of vehicles to run. After humans use up all of the fossil fuels—such as petroleum, coal, and natural gas—it will take millions of years for them to form in the earth once again. So, if humans are using up fossil fuels faster than the earth can provide them for us, it is time to use alternative fuels. Petroleum diesel and gasoline are the most commonly used fuel in vehicles, both are made from nonrenewable resources. People need to start using an alternative fuel that is renewable in order to keep vehicles running. Biodiesel is an excellent candidate for this.
“Biodiesel is a renewable, biodegradable fuel manufactured domestically from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant grease.” (“Biodiesel Fuel Basics”).
Biodiesel not only fixes the increasingly significant problem of running out of fossil fuels, it is also a cleaner and healthier alternative for the environment. Gasoline is one of the largest contributors to air pollution. When gasoline is burned, the outcome is carbon dioxide (“Gasoline and the Environment”). Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to the rising global temperature. Biodiesel reduces the amount of carbon dioxide discharge in cars because the majority of it is absorbed by the feedstocks used in the manufacturing of the biodiesel. It is also much less combustive than petroleum diesel (“Biodiesel Benefits and Considerations). Not only does biodiesel reduce carbon dioxide emissions, it also lowers emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and hydrocarbon—all of which are extremely harmful to the environment by causing air pollution, global warming, and smog.
For my project I will be making biodiesel with different types of oil—such as canola oil, vegetable oil, and restaurant waste oil—and seeing which one burns brighter and hotter. In order to make biodiesel, it needs a methoxide ion that can be created from dissolving potassium hydroxide in methanol. Potassium hydroxide should be kept in a sealed tight bag as it can react with moisture in the air. I will dissolve the potassium hydroxide in the methanol by putting them into a metal stirrer hotplate. While this is an excellent way of producing biodiesel, this reaction also produces molecules of water which need to be separated from the methanol-potassium hydroxide mixture by letting the mixture settle in a bottle and draining the biodiesel out. The reason behind separating the molecules of water and the biodiesel is due to the water molecules becoming soap after the potassium hydroxide catalyst is used (“Methoxide Catalysts in Biodiesel Production”). In order to rid the biodiesel of any impurities or waste, it needs to be washed out with water. This can be done by shaking the biodiesel and water in a bottle and waiting for the water and waste to settle and then drain it out of the bottle. This should be done until the water is totally clear, indicating the biodiesel is now free from any impurities or waste. After being rid of waste, the biodiesel should be heated in order to accelerate the drying process. The biodiesel is dry when it is turns translucent (Tech). To test which oil used for biodiesel is best, the different biodiesel samples should be poured either into lanterns and burned that way, or put into small alcohol burners. The control would be just regular canola oil to see how much hotter and bright a biodiesel flame would be than just the oil by itself.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency stated that “Hotels and restaurants in the United States generate 3 billion gallons of waste cooking oil per year,”. While America as a whole uses much more than three billion gallons of gasoline, it is a great start to reducing the amount of fossil fuels we use up. While it is difficult for most diesel car engines to use purely biodiesel alone, biodiesel blends have been becoming increasingly more used over the past decade. People have concerns that using biodiesel alone will wear down the engine. Blends such as twenty percent biodiesel and eighty percent diesel are very commonly used (“Biodiesel Benefits – Why Use Biodiesel?”). Newer diesel engines are much more capable of running on biodiesel. Biodiesel is used for compression-ignition engines (Biodiesel Fuel Basics). Diesel engines depend on lubricity to keep from parts wearing down; biodiesel actually increases lubricity because of the oil base (“Biodiesel Benefits and Considerations”).
Biodiesel is not the only renewable alternative to regular gasoline. Biofuels such as ethanol and biogas do not require a diesel engine. As of today, expenses are not a problem for biofuels because they cost just about as much as regular gas does. Biodiesel unfortunately is slightly more expensive than regular gasoline, but it is significantly better for the environment. While using biodiesel alone with no repercussions is the goal, we may have to use blends of biodiesel with regular diesel until diesel engines are able to withstand it.
While biodiesel is already a common alternative fuel that is used today, it needs to be further looked into as an alternative source of fuel for vehicles. Biodiesel blends of up to twenty percent biodiesel are the highest accepted percents of biodiesel used in cars. Engines should be made sturdy enough for higher percentages of biodiesel to be used. The more biodiesel that is used, less nonrenewable resources are used. People seem to forget that nonrenewable resources are called nonrenewable for a reason. They take millions of years to build up in the earth again, so what we have now is all that we can use for the next couple millennia. Of course to some people it is not a problem unless it is affecting them today. If we want to continue to run cars and other vehicles we must start looking further into alternative fuels. Biodiesel is not only a capable fuel alternative, but it is cleaner, better for the environment, and it uses waste oil from restaurants and other food service providers that would otherwise be thrown out and disposed of.
Works Cited
- “Biodiesel Benefits and Considerations.” Alternative Fuels Data Center: Fuel Prices. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2018. <https://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/biodiesel_benefits.html>.
- “Biodiesel Fuel Basics.” Alternative Fuels Data Center: Fuel Prices. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2018. https://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/biodiesel_basics.html>.
- “Biodiesel.” Fuel Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2018. <https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/biodiesel.shtml>.
- EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2018. <https://www.epa.gov/>.
- “Gasoline and the Environment.” Factors Affecting Gasoline Prices – Energy Explained, Your Guide To Understanding Energy – Energy Information Administration. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2018. <https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=gasoline_environment>.
- “Methoxide Catalysts in Biodiesel Production.” EXtension. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2018. <https://articles.extension.org/pages/26615/methoxide-catalysts-in-biodiesel-production>.
- “Biodiesel Benefits – Why Use Biodiesel?” Pacific Biodiesel. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2018. <http://www.biodiesel.com/biodiesel/benefits/>.
- Tech, Rick Da. “Drying Biodiesel.” Make Biodiesel. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2018. <http://www.make-biodiesel.org/Water-Washing/drying-biodiesel.html>.
- “The Benefits of Biodiesel.” Green America. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2018. <https://www.greenamerica.org/green-living/benefits-biodiesel>.