- December 8, 2015
- 1:42 pm
- John Caltagirone
- no comments
Biodisel Changing Supply Chain
Biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning diesel. Usually made form an array of different sources including recycled vegetable oil, soybean oil, and animal fat. The process that separates the oil or animal fat is called transesterification, which in methyl esters (used in the biodiesel) and glycerin (used in soaps) – evidently a fully sustain process.
The use of biodiesel has been popularized in freight transportation. The B20 concoction (20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum diesel) has proven to be a more optimal option for engines, working better in colder weather, being a cleaner selection for fuel filters, and equally powerful. It also enhances the engine life and doesn’t require engine modifications to be made.
Moreover fleet owners and transportation experts have found biodiesel to be less of a pollutant, more economical and is less harming from a health perspective. The American Lung Association stated that using biodiesel reduces carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter, all that effect air quality. The Argonne National Laboratory found that pure biodiesel reduces greenhouse gasses by more than 52 percent. A real win-win for both fleet owners and the environment.
The demand and popularity of the alternative has increased since 2000 from 25 million gallons of the fuel produced each year to 1.7 billion gallons in 2014 according to the National Biodiesel Board. This is projected to increase by 2022 by 10%. The National Biodiesel Board also indicated that the biodiesel industry accounts for 62,000 jobs across 200 plants in the nation (G&D Integrated White Paper September 2015).
Loyola University Chicago has also adopted this sustainable method through the Searle Biodiesel Program, which focuses on the production, research and outreach efforts to establish a long term goal of a Zero Waste Process. Cooking oil used in the dining halls, local restaurants, and corporate cafeterias is being processed into biodiesel and glycerin. The biodiesel is then being used in the delivery trucks for the dining halls at the university and the glycerin product is created into soap that is placed in the soap dispensers in the bathrooms. Click here for a diagram that maps the complete use of the cooking oil and the byproducts post-filtration.