Biodiesel: Safer and Cleaner Fuel for This Winter

National Biodiesel Board Applauds House Passage of Energy Bill

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of energy legislation with broad renewable fuel provisions. H.R. 6, the Energy Independence and Security Act, expands the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in a manner that will encourage increased use of Biodiesel, and extends the federal Biodiesel tax incentive.

The Energy Bill, which passed by a vote of 235 to 181, will expand the existing RFS to 36 billion gallons by 2022. It would provide for a renewable requirement in diesel fuel, to be met by Biodiesel and other biomass-based diesel fuels. The legislation specifically requires that 500 million gallons of Biodiesel and biomass-based diesel fuel be blended into the diesel pool in 2009, gradually ramping up to one billion gallons by 2012. Additionally, the bill extends the Biodiesel tax incentive through Dec. 31, 2010, which helps make Biodiesel competitive with petroleum diesel fuel in the marketplace. (Source: The Washington Post).

Let us give credit to the efforts of Senator Maria Cantwell, a member of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee who promotes the production and use of Biodiesel. The bill surely protects the ability of American Biodiesel producers to compete in foreign markets. My concern is, will it compete in the marketplace, here in America? There should be a viable domestic market for biodiesel. To make the bill succeed, coordination and implementation shall be accordance with the state, suppliers, processors, fuel marketers, distributors and the would be end users as well.

Among the benefits of using Biodiesel are:

• Biodiesel reduces our dependence on foreign oil

• Biodiesel reduces emissions of Carbon Dioxide that cause a lot of problem for the environment. In other words, reduces the greenhouse gas emission

• Biodiesel is an efficient fuel. For each unit of energy consumed in the production of fuel, it creates 3.2 units of energy.

If you will use Biodiesel, there is no need to change your car or there is no need for engine modification. In addition to this, there are spare parts inventories that are readily available. You don’t need to hire a special mechanics for your car. Like any other vehicles hoses need to be checked after the first 6 months. Replacement of non-compatible hoses may be necessary, but is not usually expensive and hard to find.

I remember a friend of mine, Dustin Hall, a graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, just years before the passage of the Bill, used his summer break back in his freshman year and established a Biodiesel Plant in the Philippines, a country in the South East Asian region. He chose to build the plant in the Philippines because the country is rich in coconut trees. And his father spent some time in the country when he was young. And because Dustin believed that coconut oil can be used as Biodiesel, he set-up the DH Coco Diesel in the Philippines. The plant produces 156 gallons of 100 percent coconut diesel in a day. The second largest producer of Biodiesel in that country.

 

According to Dustin, Biodiesel is a combination of diesel fuel and used or new vegetable oils or animal fats. For example, oil used for cooking French fries or donuts can be used to make a car run. This explains why some people say that cars that run on Biodiesel sometimes end up smelling like newly fried fries from McDonalds! hahaha. Merry Christmas!

 

Nitrogen Keeps You Safer On The Road

Be safe! Improve your vehicle’s handling, improve fuel efficiency and give long life to your tires. Inflate your tires with Nitrogen.

Let us review our Chemistry. Nitrogen has an atomic symbol of N and has an atomic number of 7. Nitrogen has boiling point of -195.79˚C and with a melting point of -210.0˚C. Nitrogen gas can be obtained by liquefaction and fractional distillation. Nitrogen makes up 78.1% of the Earth’s air, by volume. The air we breathe is actually 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% small amounts of gases.

Nitrogen is now the popular replacement for standard air. There are so many advantages of inflating your tire with nitrogen instead of oxygen or standard air.

• Nitrogen for Longer Pressure Retention. Nitrogen maintains longer tire pressure. It reduces the chance of a blowout. Thus, improves vehicle’s handling that you can react quickly and decisively in ever changing road conditions and situations.

• Nitrogen Improves Fuel Efficiency. With correct tire pressure brought about by Nitrogen in your tires, it lessens the rolling resistance thus maximize fuel efficiency.

• Nitrogen Extends Tire life. Ordinary air or oxygen causes oxidation. It makes rubber brittle and causes loss of tensile strength. Oxygen reacts and damages the inner tire liners. Unlike oxygen, nitrogen reacts to high temperatures and pressures.

• Nitrogen keeps you Safer on the Road. In a recent study, under-inflated tires cause 90% of blowouts. Because of the large size of molecules of Nitrogen, it stays in your tire longer because it is least permeable. It provides reliable pressure in your tires thus reduce blowout potential. Nitrogen has a cooler running tire temperature.

• Nitrogen Increases Rim Life Too. Nitrogen is completely dry. The rust on your rims is caused by condensation from water vapor and other gas that is caught in valves.

Even commercial airlines uses nitrogen in aircraft tires because it reduces the potential for water vapor freezing at high altitudes. The U.S. military and the NASA use nitrogen too, for the same reasons that commercial airlines have.

Proper tire maintenance is a big deal. Maintain your tire pressure with Nitrogen. Protect your self. Be safe.