Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Bean Machines - Diesel fuel from soybeans gains traction.
Machine Design Magazine ^ | 28 Sep 2006 | Lawrence Kren

Posted on 10/24/2006 8:05:36 AM PDT by Red Badger

Most would agree, the days of cheap oil are gone. Burgeoning economies in China and India, instability in oil-producing regions, and refineries running at capacity, exacerbate already tight crude supplies. This confluence of events has forced major oilconsuming nations to take a more serious look at alternative fuels.

In the U.S., ethanol from corn has helped cut dependence on foreign oil. The U.S. in 2004 produced about 3.4 billion gallons of ethanol , equivalent to roughly 2% of annual gasoline consumption. Europe, on the other hand, has seen a decline in gasoline consumption, along with a commensurate rise in demand for diesel fuel. For years, strapped with high fuel prices, Europeans have embraced diesel-powered cars because they use about 40% less fuel than gasoline burners. In fact, some 40% of registered cars there are diesels.

As in the U.S., concern over fuel supplies in Europe has spurred development of renewable fuels, notably biodiesel. The EU25 consumed 22.7 million gallons of biodiesel last year, up sixfold since 1996, according to the German biodiesel trade association, Verband der Deutschen Biokraftstoffindustrie. About 4% of diesel fuel sold in Germany is biodiesel, and that percentage is expected to rise, helped, in part, by tax incentives.

The U.S. is on a significantly steeper trajectory than Europe with respect to biodiesel production,-this despite the fact diesel engines in 2004 powered just 3% of U.S light-duty vehicles. The U.S. last year consumed 75 million gallons of biodiesel, 50 more than in 1999, says the trade association National Biodiesel Board (NBB), Jefferson City, Mo. The industry is on track to make 150 million gallons this year. Production should continue to climb as more plants come on line and dieselpowered cars gain market share, which by some estimates, could reach 12% by 2012.

"Replacing 5% of petroleumbased diesel fuel with biodiesel each year would supplant the crude oil the U. S. buys from Iraq for diesel," says NBB CEO Joe Jobe. That's a start, but a drop in the barrel compared to the roughly 40 billion gallons of diesel fuel the U.S. consumed last year for onroad transportation. Perhaps more compelling arguments for biodiesel fuel are environmental.

Studies show biodiesel is both nontoxic and biodegradable. Compared with petroleum diesel, the burning of biodiesel produces half the carbon monoxide and 78% less net carbon dioxide (CO2), the gas thought to cause global warming. Lower CO2 emissions are the result of biodiesel's closed-carbon cycle: CO2 released into the atmosphere when biodiesel burns is recycled by growing plants, which are later processed into fuel, suggests a study by the Dept. of Energy (DoE) and USDA. The jury is still out on whether biodiesel-fired engines generate more oxides of nitrogen (NOx). NOx is a main contributor to smog.

An important factor called energy balance is a way of rating fuels by the amount of energy consumed in their production. A recent report by the USDA found corn ethanol has an energy balance of 1.34. That is, every Btu dedicated to the production of ethanol yields a 34% energy gain. Biodiesel has an energy balance of 3.2, according to a joint USDADoE study. Solar energy collected by the crops from which the fuels are made is said to account for the positive energy balances of ethanol and biodiesel. For comparison, gasoline has an energy balance of 0.805, or a 19.5% net energy loss. For petroleum diesel, that number is 0.83.

Another key metric for rating fuels is volumetric energy content because both engine power and fuel economy scale with it. Pure biodiesel fuel contains about 10% less energy per volume than No. 2 petroleum diesel. Theoretically, burning pure biodiesel should lower power output by the same percentage. However, biodiesel is slightly more viscous than petroleum diesel, which boosts injector efficiency, so the actual loss is about 5 to 7% according to the trade group Engine Manufacturers Assn. (EMA), Chicago.

Biodiesel is typically blended with petroleum diesel to make B2, B5, and B20, which are 2, 5, and 20% biodiesel by volume, respectively. Such blends keep energy content at levels near that of conventional diesel fuel and help offset some of biodiesel's less-desirable qualities.

All diesel fuels thicken or gel at cold temperatures, necessitating the use of special additives to keep them liquid. But biodiesel gels at warmer temperatures than petroleum diesel, which may limit its use at high concentrations in cold climates. Biodiesel is also less chemically stable than petroleum diesel and more prone to microbial growth and oxidation. Biodiesel is a good solvent as well. Cars run exclusively on petroleum diesel may, over time, develop deposits in the fuel system that are subsequently cleaned out when switching to biodiesel, clogging fuel filters and lines in the process. Biodiesel may also degrade and swell certain elastomer seals, gaskets, and hoses, as well as foul piston rings and coke up injectors.

For all these reasons, the EMA and makers of diesel-fuel-injection equipment, including Bosch, Delphi, Denso, and Stanadyne, suggest running no more than 5% biodiesel blends (B5) in modern diesel engines, provided the B100 used in the blend meets established specifications, such as ASTM D 6751.

Meanwhile, a growing number of diesel car and light-truck owners are ignoring the warnings of potential problems with higher-percentage biodiesel blends and voided manufacturer warranties. Many routinely run B20 — even B99 and B100 — in their newer diesel vehicles without issue, according to biodiesel Web sites such as Biodiesel & SVO Forums (biodiesel.infopop.cc/ eve/forums). Some claim engines run better on pure biodiesel and blends than on straight diesel fuel. Increasing demand for B20 has prompted the EMA, NBB, and the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) to hammer out specifications for the fuel's production and testing. An ASTM stamp of approval for B20 is seen as an important step toward widespread adoption of the blend. B20 is now available at about 600 pumps nationwide, according to the NBB.

Making biodiesel

A process called transesterification makes fatty acid methyl ester, or biodiesel. Oil, typically from soybeans or rapeseed, reacts with a sodium or potassium-hydroxide catalyst and methanol at temperatures between 60 to 80°C and a pressure of about 1.4 atm. Biodiesel rises to the top and is pumped off and washed of catalyst, leaving glycerol, which, after removal of methanol, can be used to make soap and other products. Careful control of the process can push yields to 99%.

Feedstock (oil) represents roughly 80% of production costs. Researchers are looking at ways to boost oil content in soybeans but, so far, have had limited success. However, just 2% higher oil content — multiplied across 75 million acres of soybean cropland — equals 422 million gallons of soy oil annually. Similar oil-optimization work is underway on flaxseed, rapeseed, corn, canola, mustard, and cottonseed, as well as molds, yeasts, and algae. Molds and yeasts need no photosynthesis and can grow inside in controlled conditions rather than open fields. These organisms may contain up to 40% oil by weight.

Waste not, want not

With high fuel prices, and the relative ease of making biodiesel fuel, some people have begun doing it themselves. The Internet is legion with forums touting recipes and equipment for brewing biodiesel from waste cooking oil. Others are foregoing the brewing process altogether and converting their diesel cars to run on straight vegetable oil or grease. Companies such as Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems, Florence, Mass., make a doityourself conversion kit. The system consists of a second tank in which to hold the grease or vegetable oil, and a heater that liquefies it. Drivers start the car on regular diesel fuel, switch to the grease tank for driving, then return to diesel fuel before shutdown to purge fuel lines of grease that could otherwise clog them.

Despite cautions from the Engine Manufacturers Assn. that burning raw vegetable oil and grease can harm engines, hundreds have done the conversion and logged thousands of trouble-free miles, according to the company Web site, greasecar.com.

MAKE CONTACT Engine Manufacturers Assn., enginemanufacturers.org Greasecar Vegetable Fuel Systems, greasecar.com National Biodiesel Board, biodiesel.org Renewable Energy Group Inc., www.renewableenergygroup.com U.S. Dept. of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center, eere.energy.gov/afdc/altfuel/biodiesel.html


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: algae; biodiesel; diesel; energy; fuel; gasoline; renewenergy
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-30 last
To: EagleUSA

I can buy 99% Biodiesel for ~$2.70/gal(Feds are subsidizing $1/gal I beleive).


21 posted on 10/24/2006 8:25:58 AM PDT by Paladin2 (Islam is the religion of violins, NOT peas.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

A waste of water and food use gasoline


22 posted on 10/24/2006 8:27:38 AM PDT by Vaduz (and just think how clean the cities would become again.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

I can confirm that beans do indeed contain large amounts of gas.


23 posted on 10/24/2006 8:28:06 AM PDT by expatpat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Vaduz
A waste of water and food use gasoline

A little punctuation is needed to clarify that sentence. It can be read three different ways.

24 posted on 10/24/2006 8:29:47 AM PDT by Red Badger (CONGRESS NEEDS TO BE DE-FOLEY-ATED...............................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: azhenfud
I invision futures in chicken and pork fat rising.

I just hope the Soylent Corporation stays out of the biofuel business...

25 posted on 10/24/2006 8:48:33 AM PDT by Charles Martel (Liberals are the crab grass in the lawn of life.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: The_Reader_David

No. You get a pound of nitrogen fertilizer credit per bushel of soybeans raised. They do fix the nitrogen they need and then some.


26 posted on 10/24/2006 9:09:51 AM PDT by clodkicker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: clodkicker

Glad to hear it.

The obvious biofuels plan, then is to do crop rotations of soybeans and corn. They both grow well in a fair swath of the US that gets adequate rainfall to not need irrigation.

Of course the saw grass/jungle rot route to ethanol needs to come on line soon, too.


27 posted on 10/24/2006 9:43:13 AM PDT by The_Reader_David (And when they behead your own people in the wars which are to come, then you will know. . .)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

bump for later follow up.


28 posted on 10/24/2006 10:29:16 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Dark Skies

ROFL!!!


29 posted on 10/24/2006 10:34:21 AM PDT by Liberty Valance (Keep a simple manner for a happy life)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
I can't vouch for the accuracy of this data but according to the entry on Wikipedia they can get an average of 40 gallons per acre with soybeans, 110 gallons per acre (GPA)with rapeseed (the stuff they make canola oil from, 140 gallons per acre from mustard seed, 175 GPA with jatropha, 650 GPA with palm oil, and, theoretically, they might be able to get 10,000 GPA from oily algae but they haven't figured out a way to grow "fields" of the right kind of algae efficiently and consistently. Algae may or may not pan out as a biodiesel feedstock, just like cellulosic ethanol may not ever pan out. Ethanol yields have improved over the years, as could biodiesel yields, and both processes leave behind a significant amount of high protein animal feed. I believe average ethanol yields from corn are now approaching 400 gallons per acre. Ethanol yields are better with sugar cane, but we cannot grow much of that in the U.S., just as we couldn't really produce much palm oil domestically for biodiesel.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel
30 posted on 10/24/2006 11:50:39 AM PDT by TKDietz (")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-30 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson