Biodiesel
Topic Background
Introduction
Biodiesel is a diesel alternative made from combining lipids such as vegetable oil with an alcohol to make a fatty acid ester. It is intended to be used in a standard diesel engine rather than a converted engine. Biodiesel can be used alone or mixed with regular diesel. It can also be used as an alternative heating oil.
Biodiesel uses the measuring system called the "B" factor. The measurements used commonly are B100, B20, B5, and B2. B2 has 2% biodiesel, B5 has 5%, B20 has 20%, and B100 is pure biodiesel.
The When, Where, How, and Why
The process of making biodiesel began in 1853 when E. Duffy and J. Patrick used vegetable oil to create the first biodiesel before the diesel engine was even invented. The first person to harness this fuel was Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine. He made a single 10 feet iron cylinder with a flywheel at its base that ran on biodiesel in Augsburg, Germany. He later in 1900, demonstrated his peanut oil powered engine at a fair in Paris and received the “Grand Prix” award. In 1912 when he started his speech saying "the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal-tar products of the present time." In the 1920’s, diesel engine producers decided to harness the fossil fuel petrodiesel, nearly eliminating the use of biodiesel. Later in time, however, biodiesel did make a slight comeback. In the time of WWII, South Africa used biodiesel to power heavy vehicles. From 1978 to 1996, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory tried to use algae as a biodiesel in the "Aquatic Species Program".
Have Traditional Technologies Been Modified or Improved Through Biodiesel?
Biodiesel has allowed the diesel engine to be invented in the late 1800's. Fossil fuels sadly made this product decline in use and made pollution rise. Biodiesel is one of the liquid biofuels that can help our pollution problem and help make the world a greener place.
Biodiesel has already stepped in such a direction. It is already used in our current diesel fuel in different percentages. Biodiesel mixed with fuel has nearly no drawbacks on performance of your vehicle, besides that you may get less miles to the gallon. So, biodiesel has allowed us to consume less diesel today, and help lower pollution slightly for diesel users.
What are the major challenges to research and scientific advancement in Biodiesel?
Though biodiesel is a great way to become green, what would happen if we started using it over fossils fuels along with other liquid biofuels? One problem with this is indirect land usage. This theory states that if biofuels have great success, that foods we use to make these will start costing more. If this happens, more land will become farmland to inflate these items, and we will consume land with this.
Another problem with moving forward with research is runaway feedstock costs. Since feedstock is needed to make this, like our land usage above, this will also grow, but in price. The price of feedstock will rise due to the need to make the biofuels.
The biggest problem is with the plants' way of growth itself: photosynthesis. All plants need to grow, but photosynthesis efficiency puts a limit on this. Corn, for example, is said to have a 1-2 percent efficiency rate. So, if we have to use a lot of farmed foods to make fuel, we may not have enough for ourselves. Also the protein of ribulose, with helps the plant fixate carbon, is dim-witted. It is supposed to help the plant, but is so slow and it robs the plant of a lot of carbon, and fixates oxygen instead.
Is Biodiesel Still Under Development?
Scientists are trying to find better ways to make biodiesel without harming the economy, or causing any more issues. Many countries have made biodiesel production goals, seen on the home page. No larger goals besides better productions have been publically announced.
Weekend Project: Making Biodiesel
Making Biodiesel
By: MAKE Magazine
Algae Oils to Biodiesel
Algae is yet another plant that can help make biodiesel, and is a plant we don't use as much in common society. This could help stop some of the land usage caused by other crops such a soybeans and corn. This also gives a better way of making biodiesel without making people angry, as it isn't very common. Algae has this potential because, like other crops, it uses photosynthesis to store chemical energy. Algae stores its energy in the form of oils, which we can use to produce biodiesel. Algae is also the most efficient plant for making biodiesel, as it is one of the most efficient plant in photosynthesis.
Compared to other crops, algae is the best producer of lipids used in biodiesel. Soybeans can produce 450 liters per hectare, and canola can produce a slightly larger amount of 1200 liters per hectare. Palm oils out does both of these at 6000 liters. Algae beats all three of these combined, producing a whopping 90000 liters per hectare.
The highest yielding algae is the unicellular algae, Chlorophyceae. This aquatic, green algae can double its biomass in less than 24 hours if in good conditions. They also have higher lipid contents of 50% or more. This high yield makes it the mot efficient for the production of biodiesel.
One way to effectively farm oils from algae is to use an open pond system. There are many pond types, but the most common type is a raceway pond. This pond is a square track of water, algae, and nutrients that are flowing by a motorized paddle. The pond is shallow to allow the algae exposed to constant sunlight.
The disadvantages to open pond systems are that they are open to the atmosphere. This is bad because evaporation can evaporate the water in the pond. Also, since it is open,contaminants can enter the water and even begin to outgrow the algae.
Another way to farm algae is to use a photobioreactor. This way is the most cost-effective way. A photobioreactor for algae is a large, circulating pond that allow control over temperature, carbon dioxide, water levels, and light intensity. Photobioreactors are more efficient than the open ponds, allowing algae to double within hours instead of one day. The reactors also help save water, chemicals, and nutrients unlike the open ponds. Photobioreactors also can moderate the light given to algae in order to give proper intensity to the plants.
Both of these technologies are put into large facilities where the algae can be mass produced. As efficient as algae is, it is important we use it to make biodiesel more than other crops, in order to benefit society and the economy, rather than destroy it.
Three different pacilities where algae is mass-farmed
The raceway pond system, with the common components shown.
A common photobioreactor tube set-up