Fighting Global Warming: Biodiesel Expansion Around the World
With worldwide climate change and global temperatures rapidly climbing, people are turning to cleaner sources of energy. Biodiesel is a promising alternative fuel that can make the Earth a healthier place to live in. Today, there is increasing expansion in the production, distribution and use of this clean and renewable energy supply.
Biodiesel is made from a process called transesterification, where the fats and oils in animals and plants are processed into the substances that compose the fuel. As early as 1853, scientists J. Patrick and E. Duffy had already conducted a kind of transesterification of vegetable oil.
In 1900, Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, demonstrated a diesel engine that ran on peanut oil. However, the fuel cannot be considered biodiesel because it didn’t go through transesterification.
Countries, such as the United Kingdom, China, Japan, and France tested and experimented with vegetable oils throughout the 1920s and 1930s. However, they encountered some problems because the viscosity of the oils led to engine deposits.
In 1931, the first biodiesel was produced by G. Chavanne of Belgium. Since then, various research have been conducted to improve the production of biodiesel. In the 1990s, European countries began installing biodiesel power plants. Today, manufacturers can use several sources to make biodiesel, like plant oils from sunflower, palm, peanut, canola, or soybean
In Australia, almost all buses and metropolitan trains in Adelaide run on 5% biodiesel. The South Australian Government plans to move up to 20% biodiesel soon. In Canada, the government has set a goal of 500 million liters by 2010. In Finland, an oil company plans to construct a production plant with a capacity of 170,000 tons per year.
Scotland has a a power plant capable of producing 50 million liters per year. Brazil has three commercial biodiesel factories that produce 45.6 million liters per year. In India, the government encourages the cultivation of Jatropha plants, the oil of which is used for railway engines.
Farmers in the United States use the fuel in their tractors to raise public awareness. Aside from these countries, Thailand, Norway, Belgium, Costa Rica , Singapore, and others have also already taken steps to increase their biodiesel production.
By improving fuel technology and raising people’s awareness about biodiesel, the Earth may see a better future with this clean and green fuel.