As most people know, Biodiesel is an organic liquid fuel, fuel
additive or extender, used as a petrodiesel substitute. Made basically
from animal tallow, but more made often from oils such as rapeseed,
soybeans, canola, and sunflowers, waste vegetable oils, or microalgae
oils. Although, this fuel can also be made from ethanol or hydrocarbons
derived from several agricultural products such as rice hulls.
However, Biodiesel is also a term that has a technical definition
that was agreed to through a process by members of industry and
government, receiving full approval by the ASTM (American Society
of Testing and Materials), the premier standard setting organization
for fuels and fuel additives. The official definition is used
for purposes such as alternative fuel designation, EPA registration,
or other regulatory purposes, but this specific technical definition
can be confusing to the general public.
With this concept duality has forced some organizations to adopt
two definitions for Biodiesel, one labeled as the general definition
which is a simple description for the general public, and the
other the technical definition, adopted by government entities
for regulatory purposes, as well as for other business usages.
The technical definition for Biodiesel is a Biodiesel Blend,
both meeting the requirements of ASTM D 6751, remarking that Biodiesel
is a n-a fuel comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty
acids derived from animal fats or vegetable oils designated B100,
while Biodiesel Blend is a n-a blend of Biodiesel fuel with petroleum-based
diesel fuel, designated BXX, where XX represents the volume percentage
of Biodiesel fuel in the blend.
To make it easier, the public definition, declares that Biodiesel
is the domestic, renewable fuel for diesel engines derived from
natural oils like canola, soybean oil, or virgin oil that meets
the specifications of ASTM D 6751. This fuel can be used in any
concentration with petrodiesel fuel in any existing diesel engines
with little or no modification at all.
Something that people must know is the fact that Biodiesel is
not the same thing as ordinary raw vegetable oil. The fuel is
produced after a chemical process called transesterification which
removes the glycerin from the oil.