Fighting Global Warming: Biodiesel Expansion Around the World
The world is experiencing climate change and rising temperatures. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can make the Earth a better place to live in. Today, there is increasing expansion in the production, distribution and use of this fuel around the world.
Biodiesel is derived from a process called transesterification, where animal fats and plant oils are processed into the substances of the fuel. In 1853, scientists J. Patrick and E. Duffy had 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 at the World Fair in Paris. However, this peanut oil fuel is not considered biodiesel because it didn’t go through the transesterification process.
Interest in the use of vegetable oils for fuel remained through the 1920s and 1930s. France, China, the United Kingdom, and Japan experimented and tested these oils. However, their scientists encountered some problems because of the viscosity of the oils, which led to engine deposits.
In 1931, the first biodiesel production was done by G. Chavanne of Belgium. Since then, research and experiments have been counducted to improve the manufacture and use of biodiesel. In the 1990s, European countries began installing biodiesel power plants. By 1998, 21 countries began producing commercial biodiesel products. Today, manufacturers can use several sources to make biodiesel, like animal fats and plant oils from palm, sunflower, peanut, soybean or canola.
All around the world today, biodiesel use is expanding. In Australia, almost all metropolitan trains and buses in Adelaide run on 5% biodiesel mixed with petroleum. In Canada, the government has set a goal of 500 million liters of biodiesel by 2010. In Finland, an oil company plans to build a production plant with a capacity of 170,000 tons per year.
In Scotland a power plant capable of producing 50 million liters per year opened in 2005. Meanwhile, in Brazil, three biodiesel factories have been producing 45.6 million liters each year. In India, the government encourages the cultivation of Jatropha plants. The oil of this plant is used for railway engines.
Farmers in the United States use the fuel in tractors and other equipment to raise public awareness. Aside from these countries, Belgium, Costa Rica, Thailand, Singapore, the Czech Republic, Norway and others have also already taken steps to increase their biodiesel production.
With improved fuel technology and larger biodiesel networks, the Earth may see a better future with this clean and green fuel.
