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Is Biodiesel a Viable Alternative To Diesel From Fossil Fuels For Trucks And Buses?

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1.0 IntroductionBiodiesel is defined as mono-alky esters of long -chain fatty acid. It is a fuel that derived from the vegetable oils, animal fats, which is similar to the diesel fuel except that it is made from the crops. It is produced from domestically grown, renewable sources, such as crop oils or animal fats which are then chemically converted into biodiesel (Habmigren, 2003). Unlike diesel, biodiesel contains no petroleum products and free of sulfur compounds and aromatics (Habmigren, 2003). Until today, it is still the only alternative fuel for motor vehicle. The biodiesel blends have ranged from 2/98% (B2), 20/80% (B20), to 100% (B100) (Hafman, 2003). The reasons biodiesel is a viable alternative to diesel from fossil fuels for …show more content…

Thus, using the biodiesel can reduce the air pollution, and provide significant improvement in air quality. On the other hand, diesel fuels are made from petroleum and will emit harmful gases to the air, causing the pollution.

Biodiesel is a renewable, non-toxic, high oxygen content and biodegradable source. When the diesel fuel spill onto the soil or water, it will cause pollution and damage the environment whereas biodiesel is biodegradable source and can breaks down quickly into natural organic residues if it is spilled (Ennis, 2007). Therefore, it is not dangerous to the environment and safe to be use.

There is no much different between conventional diesel fuel and biodiesel. Biodiesel can provide almost same horsepower, acceleration, and fuel economy as diesel fuel. The energy level provided by the biodiesel blends only 10 percent lower than conventional diesel fuel (Gorham, 2006).

Furthermore, biodiesel has very high lubricating quality and this can reduce wear, extend the engine life and lower the maintenance cost. In addition, it has higher flashpoint which means it would not catch fire easily (Gorham, 2006). In other words, it is safer to be use.

Biodiesel can be used in almost all the conventional diesel engine, include the engine for trucks and buses. Based on the research conducted by researchers in Missouri and Idaho, standard diesel engine can operate on 100 percent biodiesel (Hafman, 2003).

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