Summary - Biodiesel

Many Americans are aware of the environmental and economical benefits of biodiesel. Biodiesel from soy bean reduces CO2 emissions by 78% compared to diesel fuel and it is an efficient source of energy as it provides 3.2 units of fuel energy with every unit of fossil fuel energy consumed in its production. Palm seed produces about 13 times the amount of biodiesel from soy bean using the same area of land and this leads to deforestation in countries within the tropical region for palm growing. However, 100 years of biodiesel production is required to prevent the same amount of C)2 emission to the amount removed by the rain forest.

Such practice is highly unsustainable and will adversely affect the the environment; therefore, it is important for consumers to ensure that their biodiesel is produced sustainably. One way of doing so is to label biodiesel produced sustainably for easy identification by the consumers. Biodiesel can be made sustainably to replace the use of petrol diesel and it depends on us to regulate its production practices. (Murphy, 2007)

Recent study shows that an obstacle to adoption of biodiesel is that lack of a cheap and high quality source for biodiesel production. The study states that spent coffee grounds contain about 11 to 20 percents oil by weight, which is roughly half the conventional sources such as soybean, palm and rapeseed. More than 16 million pounds of coffee are grown each year and their grounds are normally disposed or used for soil conditioning. However, that same amount of coffee grounds is estimated to be able to produce 340 million gallons of biodiesel.

An inexpensive experiment is conducted to verify the idea by extracting 100 percent of the oil from coffee grounds collected to produce biodiesel. The coffee-based fuel produced is more stable than traditional biodiesel attributed to coffee's high anti-oxidant content. Also, the remaining solids, from the experiment can be used to produce ethanol and profits are expected from the process. Use of biodiesel is increasing and it can be produced from any food crops, non-food crops and organic wastes. It can be used by itself or by blending it with petrol diesel for diesel engine. (American Chemical Society, 2008)

The first article raised the issue on sustainable production of biodiesel; biodiesel produced from unrestricted deforestation can only do more harm to our environment and thus, we must regulate the production of biodiesel to ensure its sustainability. The second article suggests an alternative source to produce biodiesel other than food crop, which will lead to increase in food prices and lack of food supply across the globe. These articles pointed out the problems faced by biodiesel and suggested a solution or an approach to the problem. Efforts must be done if we are to rely on biodiesel in the future instead of diesel fuel.


References

Murphy, M (2007, Feb 13) Sustainable Biodiesel: The Ecological Cost of Fuel. Retrieved March 7, 2009 from http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2007/02/sustainable-biodiesel-the-ecological-cost-of-fuel-47421

American Chemical Society (2008, December 15). Waste Coffee Grounds Offer New Source Of Biodiesel Fuel. ScienceDaily. retrieved March 7, 2009 from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081210171900.htm



Sustainable
-maintaining ecological balance: exploiting natural resources without destroying the ecological balance of an area.

Feedstock
-raw material: a raw material used in the industrial manufacture of a product.

Spent
-consumed: used or used up.

Conditioner
-something that conditions: a substance that makes something such as soil easier to manage.

Compost
-decayed plant matter: a mixture of decayed plants and other organic matter used by gardeners for enriching soil.

Retrieved from Microsoft Encarta 2008 Dictionaries