What is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is the name for a variety of ester-based oxygenated fuels made from
vegetable oils or animal fats.  The concept of using vegetable oil as a fuel
dates back to 1895 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the first diesel engine to
run on vegetable oil. Diesel demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition
in Paris in 1900 using peanut oil as fuel.

Biodiesel Usage

Basic Terminology: Biodiesel is the pure, or 100 percent, biodiesel fuel.
It is referred to as B100 or "neat" fuel.
A biodiesel blend is pure biodiesel blended with petro diesel. Biodiesel
blends are referred to as Bxx. The xx indicates the amount of biodiesel the
blend (i.e., a B20 blend is 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petro diesel).

Biodiesel and biodiesel  blends have excellent solvent properties. In some cases the use of
petro diesel,leaves a deposit in the bottom of fueling lines, tanks, and delivery systems over
time. The use of biodiesel can dissolve this sediment and result in the need
to change filters more frequently when first using biodiesel until the whole
system has been cleaned of the deposits left by the petro diesel.

Be aware of biodiesel's freezing properties and take precautions as with #2
petro diesel use in cold weather.  A 20 percent blend of biodiesel with
petro diesel raises the freezing properties approximately 3° to 5° F (pour
point, cloud point, cold filter plugging point). In most cases, this has not
been an issue. Twenty percent biodiesel blends have been used in the upper
Wisconsin area and in Iowa during -25° F weather with no problems. Solutions
to biodiesel winter operability problems are the same solutions used with
conventional petro diesel ( use engine block or fuel filter heaters on the engine, store the vehicles near
or in a building, etc.). Neat biodiesel will begin to freeze at about 25° F
and, if used or stored on site, will need to be kept in an area that will not
get below that temperature. Most underground tanks are around 50° F and are
not a problem.

Use the biodiesel within one year.  All fuels, including petro diesel, have a shelf life.
This is also true with biodiesel and biodiesel blends.
Industry experts recommend that biodiesel be used within one year to
ensure that the quality of the fuel is maintained. Storage time does not
impact biodiesel distribution given biodiesel’s production logistics.
Biodiesel is generally not stored for long periods of time. Production levels
and rates are established to meet demand (similar to "just in time" inventory
methods). This is an advantage enjoyed by renewable fuels, like biodiesel,
that cannot be shared by its fossil fuel counterparts.