August 8, 2002

Biodiesel Is Becoming A New Source of Energy

Domestically produced and renewable fuel that can be manufactured from vegetable oils or recycled fuel is making biodiesel a hot commodity among farmers in North Dakota.

"Bio-diesel is a vegetable oil that is converted into an ethyl or methyl ester," says Vern Hofman, NDSU Extension Service agriculture & biosystems engineer. It’s a renewable type of fuel that you can make from numerous types of vegetable oils that are currently grown in North Dakota and all parts of the world,"

Just like petroleum diesel, biodiesel operates in combustion-ignition engines. It’s blend a of petroleum diesel mixed with up to 20 percent biodiesel. Using biodiesel does not require engine modifications and can provide the same payload capacity and range as petroleum diesel.

Using biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine substantially reduces emissions of unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulfates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and particulate matter. These reductions increase as the amount of biodiesel blended into diesel fuel increases.

"The biggest problem with using a raw vegetable oil is the viscosity of the fuel. What we are trying to do is convert it into an ester which breaks down the vegetable oil molecule in size, making it more similar to diesel," Hofman says.

"There have been studies that have shown biodiesel will lubricate just as well, if not better than regular diesel, which is good for the injector pump," Hofman says. "There is another disadvantage in that it does tend to gel at warmer temperatures compared to regular diesel. It gels at approximately 30 degrees, but if we dilute it with diesel fuel or use some additives or engine heaters, I think we can work around the problem. But we’re more than likely going to go with lower rate of biodiesel rather than using it at 100 percent. Its mainly a matter of people getting used to biodiesel because it is a little different."

In North Dakota, farmers are showing interest in biodiesel, but are hesitant to buy it because of the high cost. "Diesel fuel is probably going to cost about $1 a gallon and biodiesel is about $1.50 per gallon. That is about an extra 50 cents per gallon or so on top of the regular cost," Hofman says.

"Looking at it from a farmer’s point of view, it is going to produce an excellent new market for their crops. They grow enough soybeans here to replace all of the unfarmed fuel needs in the state. That does not include personal transportation, so we are just talking about farm machine use. Soybeans was a minor crop until a few years ago. If we took the oil from soybeans, we could replace all of the diesel fuel on North Dakota farms using soybean oil.

If you are interested in biodiesel fuel, contact your local extension agent or contact Vern Hofman, North Dakota State University Extension Service Ag & Biosystems Engineer, at (701) 231-7240 for more details.

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Source: Vern Hofman, (701) 231-7240, vhofman@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Richard Mattern, (701) 231-6136, Richard.Mattern@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Writer: JJ Camarillo, (701) 231-8371, jcamaril@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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