How would you know Biodiesel fuel is better than the fossil fuels? What are the factors we will need to compare them? Are we capable of replacing all the fossil fuel demands?
Will there be a shortage of production? Will the price of fuel ever go down?
To answer all of these questions, let us investigate the pros and cons of using a Biodiesel fuel. Let us start with the benefits and here they are:
- It has a lower emission compared to petroleum diesel, so it has a better effect on our environment.
- It is less toxic and biodegrades faster.
- It lessens our dependence on foreign oil and so it helps our economy.
- It has a better lubricating properties
- Its resources are available in almost all of the countries in the world.
How about the roadblocks? These are the roadblocks we foresee right now:
- It will require a vast area of land to produce enough fuel to replace the petroleum fuel.
- The production cost in some countries is still expensive.
- There is still a need to improve the processing method and its quality.
- Most manufactured diesel engines are still designed for petroleum diesel.
What problems did we discovered so far? In some manufactured products, they found a small amount of water in the fuel; as a result here are its side effects:
- It causes a reduction of heat combustion.
- It is harder to start.
- Creates more smoke.
- It causes Engine corrosion.
- Water accelerates microbe colonies which shorten the life cycle of the paper filter elements that result in premature failure of the fuel pump.
- In cold place weather, water freezes to form ice crystals which accelerate the gelling of the residual fuel.
- Water can cause plugging up a fuel system.
- Water can cause pitting in the pistons of diesel engines.
As a conclusion, the benefits of Biodiesel fuel have great values. The fact that it affects our health is more than enough reason for us to continue using it. However, there is still a lot of work ahead of us to truly replace the fossil fuels with bio fuel.
