A Greener Biodiesel? | Green Energy News

February 5, 2006 – Vol.10 No.46

A GREENER BIODIESEL?

In a full cycle analysis pure biodiesel (B100) produces 78.5 percent fewer carbon dioxide emissions than petroleum diesel. It has no sulfur emissions. It is compatible with conventional diesel fuel. It is made from a variety of renewable feedstocks. New biodiesel refining operations are popping up at steady rate. Biodiesel is a direct replacement for petroleum diesel.

In short, biodiesel is a winner.

But can it be even better? It seems so. More than one company thinks a waste product of biodiesel production - glycerin - can be converted to make a large variety of products - even components of vehicles that could have biodiesel fueled engines under the hood.

First, the latest on biodiesel and diesel technology. (The two go hand in hand.)

--- Cummins has certified B5 (5 percent biodiesel/95 percent petroleum diesel) for its full line of diesel engines used in on and off road vehicles and equipment.

--- Cummins, too, by 2007 plans to certify diesels used in DaimlerChrysler’s Dodge Ram trucks to run on B20. First to gain certification will be engines used in fleets or military trucks. Engines for all Dodge Ram trucks will be certified for B20 soon after.

--- Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), a major agricultural processor and renewable fuels producer, plans to convert its soybean crushing facilities in Europoort in The Netherlands to also crush rapeseed, which will be used to make biodiesel. The plant will have a crushing capability in excess of one million tons per year.

--- In Europe, diesels now make up about half of all automotive sales. Almost all manufacturers worldwide have diesel power cars. Many models sold in the U.S. are available overseas with diesels.

--- Mercedes-Benz has its clean BlueTec (tm) clean diesel technology ready to use 2007 in the U.S. and will license the technology to others. BlueTec, along with low-sulfur diesel fuel should allow diesel automobiles to meet emissions regulations in all 50-states.

--- Toyota has also announced a new, much cleaner diesel engine. The Yaris, soon to be sold in the U.S. in gasoline models only, is available elsewhere on the planet with Toyota’s clean D-4D diesel engine that gives the car an average of 64.2 miles per gallon. (That’s Japanese driving cycle testing.)

--- Honda, which already sells diesels around the globe, has said in news reports that it may attempt to sell a diesel car in the U.S. soon.

--- Nissan has said the same thing in news reports.

There’s a clear and growing market potential for biodiesel in the U.S. and worldwide. As the market for biodiesel grows and millions of gallons of waste glycerin are produced, a market could be developing to turn that waste into an industrial resource.

Typically glycerin is sold to others for use in products like hand lotion. For every 10 gallons of biodiesel produced one gallon of glycerin is made. That’s a lot of hand lotion when millions of gallons of biodiesel are produced.

According to news sources the ever-increasing production of biodiesel fuel is putting so much glycerin on the market that glycerin prices are severely depressed and traditional glycerin plants are closing.

There will need to be more products made from glycerin to use up all that the growing biodiesel industry will supply, or a significant disposal problem might be at hand.

So what’s being done to consume all that glycerin ?

According to International Polyol Chemicals, Inc. (IPCI), with support from work from Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Washington, glycerin can be made into to make glycols though a process called hydrogenation in the presence of a catalyst. Those glycols can be used to make anything from antifreeze, to paints and plastics. The plastic dash panel of a biodiesel-fueled car, for instance, could someday be made of the same renewable energy source that runs the engine.

The hitch? Hydrogen is required in the IPCI process and that has to made. But, proponents in Washington state want to make sure the hydrogen is generated from renewable energy sources so that the whole process emission free.

Adding value and potential income stream to the entire biodiesel industry by the continual conversion of glycerin-to-glycols-to-products seems a good thing. It appears that with the growth of biodiesel a new industry could be born and new opportunities arise.

Other companies such as Brussels, Belgium-based Solvay and U.S -based Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) (as above) are, or planning to use excess glycerin from biodiesel production to make glycols. Solvay will make epoxy resin and other products with their glycerin-from-biodiesel. Epoxy resins are used to make wind turbine blades, for instance.

Visit IPCI at http://www.polyolchem.com/ for more information and possibly white paper on the subject. Visit Solvay at http://www.solvay.com/ and ADM at http://www.admworld.com/ , Big Bend Community College at http://www.bigbend.edu/