by Dark Sith
With worldwide climate change and global temperatures rapidly climbing, people are turning to cleaner sources of energy. Biodiesel is a promising alternative fuel that can make the Earth a healthier place to live in. Today, there is increasing expansion in the production, distribution and use of this clean and renewable energy supply.
Biodiesel is derived from a process called transesterification, where animal fats and plant oils are processed into the substances of the fuel. In 1853, scientists J. Patrick and E. Duffy had conducted a kind of transesterification of vegetable oil.
In 1900, Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, demonstrated a diesel engine that ran on peanut oil at the World Fair in Paris. However, this peanut oil fuel is not considered biodiesel because it didn’t go through the transesterification process.
Countries, such as the United Kingdom, China, Japan, and France tested and experimented with vegetable oils throughout the 1920s and 1930s. However, they encountered some problems because the viscosity of the oils led to engine deposits.
In 1931, the first biodiesel production was done by G. Chavanne of Belgium. Since then, research and experiments have been counducted to improve the manufacture and use of biodiesel. In the 1990s, European countries began installing biodiesel power plants. By 1998, 21 countries began producing commercial biodiesel products. Today, manufacturers can use several sources to make biodiesel, like animal fats and plant oils from palm, sunflower, peanut, soybean or canola.
All around the world today, biodiesel use is expanding. In Australia, almost all metropolitan trains and buses in Adelaide run on 5% biodiesel mixed with petroleum. In Canada, the government has set a goal of 500 million liters of biodiesel by 2010. In Finland, an oil company plans to build a production plant with a capacity of 170,000 tons per year.
In 2005, a power plant capable of producing 50 million liters per year opened in Scotland. In Brazil, three commercial biodiesel factories have been producing 45.6 million liters of the fuel per year. In India, the government is encouraging the cultivation of Jatropha plants, the oil of which is used for railway engines. Malaysia has long been developing palm biodiesel as a diesel substitute.
Farmers in the United States use the fuel in their tractors to raise public awareness. Aside from these countries, Thailand, Norway, Belgium, Costa Rica , Singapore, and others have also already taken steps to increase their biodiesel production.
National governments around the world are making policies to increase the biodiesel blends that they use to fight global warming. By improving fuel technology, establishing larger biodiesel networks, raising people’s awareness and increasing biodiesel use, the Earth may see a better future through this clean and green fuel.