Article Advise

submitted: May 6th 2008 | by: DarkSith | Total views: 4 | Word Count: 401 | |

The world is experiencing climate change and rising temperatures. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can make the Earth a better place to live in. Today, there is increasing expansion in the production, distribution and use of this fuel around the world.

Biodiesel is made from a process called transesterification, where the fats and oils in animals and plants are processed into the substances that compose the fuel. As early as 1853, scientists J. Patrick and E. Duffy had already conducted a kind of transesterification of vegetable oil.

In 1900, Rudolf Diesel 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 transesterification.

Interest in the use of vegetable oils for fuel remained through the 1920s and 1930s. France, China, the United Kingdom, and Japan experimented and tested these oils. However, their scientists encountered some problems because of the viscosity of the oils, which led to engine deposits.

In 1931, the first biodiesel was produced by G. Chavanne of Belgium. Since then, various research have been conducted to improve the production of biodiesel. In the 1990s, European countries began installing biodiesel power plants. Today, manufacturers can use several sources to make biodiesel, like plant oils from sunflower, palm, peanut, canola, or soybean

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 tractors and other equipment to raise public awareness. Aside from these countries, Belgium, Costa Rica, Thailand, Singapore, the Czech Republic, Norway and others have also already taken steps to increase their biodiesel production.

With improved fuel technology and larger biodiesel networks, the Earth may see a better future with this clean and green fuel.

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We could fight global warming with biodiesel expansion, to learn more visit our online guide.

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