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Biofuel: The Future is Now

by Jamey Landry

illustration by Tim Mitchell

Imagine filling your car’s fuel tank at the same drive-thru where you fill up on burgers and fries. It’s not as far fetched as it sounds. Biofuels made from vegetable oils, corn, soybeans and even algae are leading the way in the quest by the Department of Energy and private industry to reduce or eliminate our country’s dependence on foreign oil.

The Department of Energy is promoting development of several renewable alternative energy solutions that also promise to be cleaner than the petroleum-based fuels (petrofuels) they stand to replace. Leading the list of petroleum alternatives are biofuels, which are made from either ethyl or methyl alcohol; biodiesel, which is made from vegetable and plant oils; solar energy; and wind energy.

Renewable fuel from plants

Biofuels such as ethanol, made mostly from corn, and methanol, made mostly from wood debris, are the most readily available petrofuel alternatives. Biofuels can be used straight from the pump in existing vehicles that burn unleaded gasoline. Ethanol is currently enjoying a resurgence of interest and acceptance. It is used as a fuel extender and is mixed with ordinary gasoline. Ethanol-blended fuel is largely available in the Midwest, where farmers and agricultural concerns are the biggest consumers, but there is also a demand for the fuel from ordinary motorists, as well. Ethanol also offers the advantage of reduced greenhouse gas emissions, since it releases more of its waste carbon as water than fossil fuels do. However, ethanol is somewhat corrosive and retains water in the fuel supply, requiring stainless steel fuel lines, storage tanks and special filters to combat the problem.

Biodiesel is perhaps the most promising biofuel because it is processed from renewable sources and is cleaner burning than petrodiesel. Acceptance for biodiesel is growing. The agriculture departments of several states, including Louisiana, support it. Country singer Willie Nelson is in partnership to distribute his BioWillie-brand blended biodiesel in several Midwestern and Southern states. Even the U.S. Air Force is looking into the feasibility of using a biodiesel derivative as jet fuel.

A Natural Fit

Biodiesel and diesel engines are a seemingly natural fit. In fact, German inventor Rudolf Diesel originally developed the engine that bears his name to run on peanut oil. Properly maintained diesel engines are by nature cleaner and more efficient than gasoline engines because all diesel engines burn their fuel using very high compression ratios, many times higher than gasoline engines. This high compression releases more stored energy per gallon of fuel, so diesels work more efficiently with fewer emissions than gas engines. Fewer emissions are an obvious benefit to the environment.

Just how good is biodiesel for the enviroment? A joint study by the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture has shown that compared to petrodiesel biodiesel reduces emissions of carbon monoxide by approximately 50 percent and carbon dioxide by 78 percent. Instead of adding new carbon from petroleum that was held in the earth’s crust, the carbon in biodiesel emissions is recycled by plant photosynthesis, which uses carbon already in the atmosphere. Biodiesel eliminates sulphur emmissions because there is no sulphur in the plants. Particulates in the exhaust are eliminated by 65 percent, which reduces cancer risks by 94 percent.

Like ethanol, biodiesel can be used as a fuel extender by mixing a certain percentage of it with petrodiesel. Biodiesel can also be used “straight,” meaning 100 percent vegetable oil can be burned as fuel instead of petrodiesel. Existing diesel engines can run unmodified on blended diesel fuel with as little as 20 percent or as much as 85 percent vegetable oil mixed in. One hundred percent vegetable oil can be used in existing diesel engines with little or no noticeable change in performance. However, 100 percent biodiesel tends to gel in colder weather, so it requires preheating before it can be burned in the engine. A simple heater that uses heated water from the vehicle cooling system sufficiently heats biodiesel for use in all weather temperatures.

Biodiesel is also growing in acceptance because it can easily be “home brewed” by mixing waste vegetable oil from fast-food outlets and the like. Recycled vegetable oil from local restaurants and other used sources produces more than 4.5 billion gallons per year of used vegetable oil in the United States alone. The waste vegetable oil is filtered and cleaned, then either blended with petrodiesel or used straight at 100 percent.

A Potential Boon for Louisiana

Biodiesel is a completely renewable source of energy. It is derived from several different varieties of oil-producing plants, sunflower seeds, rapeseeds, palm oil and even some types of algae. Louisiana could potentially become a major supplier of biodiesel since soybeans grown here are another source of vegetable oil.

Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Bob Odom is an enthusiastic supporter of biodiesel and ethanol production from crops grown in our state. Biofuels are part of his vision to see the state become more energy self-sufficient. In a press release, Odom said: “Consumers are the ultimate beneficiaries of this renewable energy technology in a time when alternatives to fossil fuels are being sought.” He strongly supported a bill passed by the Louisiana legislature, which requires a percentage of gasoline produced for vehicles in Louisiana to contain renewable fuels such as ethanol or biodiesel, once in-state production reaches a certain level.

Odom favored this bill because ethanol and biodiesel production offer new markets for Louisiana agricultural commodities; they burn cleaner than petrofuels and they lessen the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. The bill requires fuel to contain at least two percent ethanol or bio-diesel once statewide production reaches 50 million gallons of ethanol or 10 million gallons of biodiesel. Governor Blanco signed the bill (HB685) into law during the legislative session in June 2006.

“In order for a family farm to survive today, I believe it has to do three things: produce food, electricity and fuel,” Odom said. “Most grains, sugarcane and rice can be used to produce ethanol. Soybeans are used to produce biodiesel. We grow plenty of crops in Louisiana that are a natural fit for producing biodiesel and ethanol. There is an opportunity here for us to be a national leader in something positive, something that will stimulate the economies in many of the state’s rural communities.”

One northshore company is already taking steps to supply ethanol producers with the necessary corn reserves for production. Mandeville-based CGB Enterprises, whose core business revolves around the grain and transportation industries in the Midwest, has been working for the past year with ethanol producers. Company spokesman Steven Burbrink says CGB is negotiating service-provider agreements with select ethanol producers to supply 100 percent of the necessary corn. Burbrink also says that CGB plans to market the co-products of ethanol production, distillers dried grain soluble and carbon dioxide.

DDGS is the corn mash left after the starches used for alcohol fermentation are removed from the corn. It is typically used as cattle or hog feed. The carbon dioxide is sold primarily for use in carbonated beverages and dry-ice production.

A cleaner-burning, completely renewable fuel is what biodiesel offers us in the immediate future. Considering all the potential benefits of biodiesel, instead of counting the calories the oil on those fries from the drive-thru is going to add, you might be counting how many miles per gallon you’d get from it instead.

For more information, see “An Overview of Biodiesel and Petroleum Diesel Lifecycles,” May 1998, Sheehan, et al. NREL at www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/fy98/24772.pdf.