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. However, the fuel cannot be considered biodiesel because it didn’t go through transesterification.

Countries, such as the United Kingdom, China, Japan, and France tested and experimented with vegetable oils throughout the 1920s and 1930s. However, they encountered some problems because the viscosity of the oils 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.

In Australia, almost all buses and metropolitan trains in Adelaide run on 5% biodiesel. The South Australian Government plans to move up to 20% biodiesel soon. In Canada, the government has set a goal of 500 million liters by 2010. In Finland, an oil company plans to construct a production plant with a capacity of 170,000 tons per year.

In 2005, a power plant capable of producing 50 million liters per year opened in Scotland. In Brazil, three commercial biodiesel factories have been producing 45.6 million liters of the fuel per year. In India, the government is encouraging the cultivation of Jatropha plants, the oil of which is used for railway engines. Malaysia has long been developing palm biodiesel as a diesel substitute.

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.

By improving fuel technology and raising people’s awareness about biodiesel, the Earth may see a better future with this clean and green fuel.