Biodiesel, what you need to know about vegetable diesel

The future of sustainable mobility is unlikely to go through one solution: the resources to use are numerous, from different applications electric traction al natural gas, none of them currently can meet all requirements on their own and best cover all uses.

Among those that seem to have been a little neglected lately is biodiesel, which was at the forefront of possible alternatives to petroleum-based fuels a few years ago, but which is less talked about today, even though it is already present in the diesel we commonly use. 

What is biodiesel

The term biodiesel is defined as a fuel obtained by chemical processes from vegetable oils such as rapeseed, sunflower, used frying oil and the like. The result is a liquid with a viscosity similar to diesel fuel, miscible in any proportion with traditional and similar characteristics and is already used as an additive to conventional diesel fuel to emphasize it lubricityespecially when the base diesel fuel has a reduced sulfur content.

The biggest difference is high dissolving power which requires revision of some engine components. In fact, only the latest generation diesel engines are designed to run on biodiesel. 100%, and for the previous ones it is desirable not to exceed 30%. Its use is currently limited to fuel. B7 or B10, an abbreviation indicating its use in percentages ranging from 7 to 10%.

Environmental benefits

The big advantage of biodiesel lies in its origin: the fact that it comes from renewable sources makes the entire supply chain more efficient. The amount of biodiesel in its cycle is reduced by the same amount 50% CO2 emissions to the atmosphere are exactly the same as for biogas, for which carbon dioxide emitted generation until it is burned, it is partially balanced by that which is absorbed by the living plants that will be used for its production.

Biodiesel limits

Biodiesel also has some limitations, even minor ones. When it is used, CO2 emissions are improved and carbon dioxide emissions are deteriorated. nitrogen oxideswhich are addressed “downstream” by interfering with the engines and using filters and catalysts in the exhaust gases, which are also required for conventional diesel fuel.

THE major obstacles to its distribution as an alternative to diesel fuel are of an economic, political and social nature. In fact, in order to meet the global demand for biodiesel fuel, one should think about the specific agricultural activity that will be carried out at the expense of need for foodespecially in the most disadvantaged areas, and it is currently impractical to assign large yields for fuel production, even if this has an excellent environmental impact.

HVO, the other way

A distant relative of biodiesel is the so-called Hydrogenated vegetable oil o HVO, hydrotreated vegetable oil. It is a high quality fuel derived from waste oil, rapeseed oil, Palm oil and animal fats. Excellent in reducing CO emissions, which can even be reduced. 90%However, ethical concerns have arisen as companies that use it, such as Eni, which uses it in their Diesel +, derive it from palm oil produced through massive deforestation processes and are therefore currently considered not stable.