Biodiesel Performance, Costs, and Use
Notes and Sources
1 Deutsches Museum, web site www.deutsches-museum.de/ausstell/meister/e_diesel.htm.
2 Optecon, web site www.sh015a7585.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/diesel.htm.
3 Deutsches Museum, web site www.deutsches-museum.de/ausstell/meister/e_diesel.htm.
4 Western Biofuels, web site www.westernbiofuels.com/history.html.
5 National Biodiesel Board, cited in G.G. Pearl, “Biodiesel Production in the U.S.,” Render Magazine (August 2001), web site www. rendermagazine.com/August2001/TechTopics.html.
6 Energy Policy Act of 2003, Conference Version, Section 1314.
7 A cetane number is determined by an engine test using two reference fuel blends with known cetane numbers. A cetane index is a calculated value, derived from fuel density and volatility, that gives a reasonable approximation of the cetane number.
8 M.S. Graboski and R.L. McCormick, “Combustion of Fat and Vegetable Oil Derived Fuels in Diesel Engines,” Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, Vol. 24, No. 2 (1998), pp. 131-132.
9 National Biodiesel Board, “Lubricity Benefits,” web site www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/Lubricity.PDF.
10 Ibid.
11 Graboski and McCormick, pp. 135-137.
12 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Biodiesel—Clean, Green Diesel Fuel, DOE/GO-102001-1449 (Golden, CO, September 2001), web site www.afdc.doe.gov/pdfs/Bio_CleanGreen.pdf.
13 National Biodiesel Board, “Biodiesel Usage Checklist,” web site www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/bdusage.PDF.
14 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Biodiesel—Clean, Green Diesel Fuel.
15 Biodiesel exhaust is said to smell like french fries. Petroleum diesel exhaust has an unpleasant sour odor.
16 The Fischer-Tropsch process uses natural gas as its raw material and yields diesel fuel with a very high cetane number, no aromatics, and no sulfur.
17 R.L. McCormick, J.R. Alvarez, and M.S. Graboski, NOx Solutions for Biodiesel, NREL/SR-510-31465 (Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, February 2003).
18 Ibid.
19 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, A Comprehensive Analysis of Biodiesel Impacts on Exhaust Emissions: Draft Technical Report, EPA420-P-02-001 (Washington, DC, October 2002), pp. 75-84, web site www.epa.gov/otaq/models/analysis/biodsl/p02001.pdf.
20 J. Sheehan, V. Camobreco, J. Duffield, M. Graboski, and H. Shapouri, Life Cycle Inventory of Biodiesel and Petroleum Diesel for Use in an Urban Bus: Final Report, NREL/SR-580-24089 (Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, May 1998), p. v, web site www. nrel.gov/docs/legosti/fy98/24089.pdf.
21 Sheehan et al., p. 98.
22 Sheehan et al., p. v.
23 National Biodiesel Board, “Biodiesel Production and Quality,” web site www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/prod_quality.pdf.
24 Graboski and McCormick, p. 127.
25 G.G. Pearl, “Biodiesel Production in the U.S.,” Render Magazine (August 2001), web site www.rendermagazine.com/August2001/ TechTopics.html.
26 Ibid.
27 U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Effects on the Farm Economy of a Renewable Fuels Standard for Motor Vehicle Fuel” (report attached to a letter from Keith Collins, Chief Economist, to Senator Tom Harkin, dated August 1, 2002), web site http://harkin.senate.gov/ specials/20020826-usda-letter.pdf.
28 U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA Agricultural Baseline Projections to 2012, Staff Report WAOB-2003-1 (Washington, DC, February 2003), web site www.ers.usda.gov/publications/waob031/waob20031.pdf.
29 R. Teall, Study to Evaluate the Feasibility of Biodiesel Production Facilities in Nevada & California Utilizing Grease Trap & Waste Cooking Oils as Feedstocks (Las Vegas, NV: Biodiesel Industries, March 19, 2002), Appendix #3—Feasibility Study, pp. 38-42, web site www.westbioenergy. org/reports/55034/55034fin.pdf.
30 Ibid.
31 E-mail from K. Shaine Tyson, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, January 11, 2002.
32 One kilowatthour is equal to 0.003412 million Btu.
33 Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2004, DOE/EOA-0383(2004) (Washington, DC, January 2004), Table 3, “Industrial Gas and Electricity Prices,” web site www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/pdf/aeotab_3.pdf.
34 National Biodiesel Board, “U.S. Biodiesel Production Capacity,” web site www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/Capacity.PDF.
35 These firms make methyl esters of fats and oils for use in consumer products such as soaps and detergents.
36 Yellow grease biodiesel may have up to 24 parts per million sulfur, which exceeds the limit for ultra-low-sulfur diesel. Until May 31, 2010, however, up to 20 percent of the highway diesel pool is subject to the less restrictive 500-ppm limit.
37 The U.S. Government operates on a fiscal year starting October 1 and ending September 30. Fiscal year 2004 began in October 2003.
38 U.S. Congress, “Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Act of 2004,” Section 5102.
39 Ibid., Section 5103.
40 Ethanol-blended gasoline has been subject to a reduced rate of Federal motor fuels excise tax since the late 1970s. The tax reduction is currently equivalent to 52 cents per gallon of ethanol. It declines to 51 cents per gallon of ethanol in 2005 and expires on September 30, 2007. Section 5102, however, gives gasoline blenders a credit of 51 cents per gallon of ethanol against the motor fuels excise tax. This credit will last through 2010.
41 EPACT defines light-duty vehicles as those with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) less than or equal to 8,500 pounds.
42 The U.S. Department of Energy made an administrative decision in January 2001 to accept biodiesel for credit under EPACT. See web site www.ott.doe.gov/epact/pdfs/biodiesel_guidance.
43 Based on conversations with staff of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.
44 Energy Information Administration, Impact of Renewable Fuels Standard/MTBE Provisions of S. 1766, SR/OIAF/2002-06 (Washington, DC, March 2002), pp. 10-12, web site http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/service/sroiaf(2002)06.pdf