What Is Biodiesel Fuel?
Where heating your home is concerned, you've never had more options. The variety of heating systems can be overwhelming, especially if you decide what you have isn't satisfactory and you need to switch to something better. One fuel source you may not have considered, though, is an emerging product called biodiesel. Let's take a look at the energy source and its benefits.
What is Biodiesel?
Biodiesel is a liquid fuel like many others that you can use in compression-ignition engine systems. The National Biodiesel Board reports independent tests in almost any type of diesel engine with performance results comparable to ordinary diesel fuel. However, those results can vary depending on the amount of biodiesel in the solution. Most diesel machines should be able to handle at least 5% biodiesel fuel.
How is Biodiesel Made?
Biodiesel consists of recycled fats and oils, even leftover grease from restaurants. The manufacturer will use an alcohol solution like methanol and chemically separate the right elements to provide fuel. The remainders, usually a form of glycerine, are useful in other ways, so they'll be transferred to a plant that can make use of them while the fuel plant continues its work.
After separating the glycerine, the rest of the results go through more chemical processing to prepare them for use as fuel. Often, that means adding petroleum to the solution to make it more like ordinary diesel. When selling biodiesel, the manufacturers will label the mixtures according to the percentage of biodiesel to petroleum inside the bottles.
What are the Pros and Cons of Biodiesel?
Biodiesel has many advantages over diesel fuel, one of the most fundamental being its source. Whereas traditional diesel is a fossil fuel that produces air pollutants, biodiesel comes from renewable resources and burns clean. The ecological benefits also include biodegradability and a lack of toxins, which makes it safer to handle than its counterpart.
Biodiesel also acts as a super-lubricant to the engine it fuels, which can make it a solvent that will clean it out. If you're making a switch from conventional diesel to biodiesel, you might have to change out a few filters until the petroleum sludge is purged, but the engine should perform better after the cleansing is complete.
The super-lubrication can act as a point against the fuel, though. In older engines that use some kinds of rubber, biodiesel has degraded the material over an extended period of use. Newer engines are more compatible with other varieties of fuel, but if you aren't sure how yours will hold up, keep an eye on your fuel hoses and pump seals and replace them as necessary.
The price can be another point against biodiesel. The fuel source is renewable, but it requires a lot of crops to create and transportation to get it to local stations. If your budget is tight, you might want to look for another alternative, and that's not a bad thing. Many other fuel sources can be appropriate for your needs and can even environmentally friendly if you use them judiciously.
In the end, you'll have to weigh the benefits and disadvantages of biodiesel against other fuels, but there's no question that it's here to stay. With time and work, engineers may be able to make it even more compatible with machines and streamline the production process so they can bring the country into the future on clean, affordable energy.
If you want to commit to an environmentally conscious fuel source, or if you just need to heat your home with a fuel you can afford, look no further than Biltmore Oil. The family-owned and operated company is committed to bringing you top-quality heat at prices within your reach. Contact us todayto see how Biltmore Oil can help you heat your home.
