International Coastal Biofuels

INTERNATIONAL COASTAL BIOFUELS

ASTM Quality Biodiesel

Why Biodiesel?

Studies show that biodiesel outperforms gasoline, ethanol, and conventional diesel in reducing climate-altering carbon dioxide emissions and in overall fuel-efficiency.

Using 100-percent biodiesel (B100) eliminates all of the sulfur emissions associated with conventional diesel, cuts emissions of carbon monoxide and smog-producing particulate matter almost in half, and reduces hydrocarbon emissions by between 75 and 90 percent. Perhaps most significantly, using B100 reduces the emissions of carbon dioxide—the main greenhouse gas causing global warming—by more than 75 percent. Even using a blended biodiesel fuel like B20 (a 20-percent biodiesel/80-percent petrodiesel blend offered at most biodiesel fueling stations) still reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent, according to the Department of Energy.

Besides lowering emissions at the point of use, biodiesel fuel—made from corn, soy, or other plant matter—had a past life absorbing carbon dioxide while it was growing as a crop in the field. With its past carbon dioxide absorptions balancing its later carbon dioxide emissions, biodiesel results in an overall life-cycle lowering of carbon dioxide emissions over both conventional diesel and gasoline. The industrial processes used to produce biodiesel are cleaner than conventional diesel processes, reducing emissions associated with the life cycle of the fuel by more than 80 percent.
As a cleaner burning fuel, biodiesel is better for a car’s engine than conventional diesel, providing greater lubrication and leaving fewer particulate deposits behind. Biodiesel’s high ignition point (350°F vs. –43°F for gasoline) makes it a safer fuel as well. Biodiesel is biodegradable and considered nontoxic by the Environmental Protection Agency. All diesel vehicles have 20- to 30-percent higher fuel economies than comparable gasoline vehicles.
Biodiesel also frees car-drivers from reliance on dwindling fossil fuel resources and the world politics associated with obtaining those resources. It also keeps fuel dollars in the US. Biodiesel is more accessible than ever.