Fatty Acid methyl Ester (FAME)

or Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester

(FAEE)

What is Biodiesel and is it safe to use it ?

A fuel made by reacting vegetable oils or

animal fats with methanol or ethanol.

A cleaner-burning diesel replacement fuel

Fatty acid alkyl esters [FAME or FAEE]

Operates in compression-ignition engines

Blends of up to 20% biodiesel (mixed with

petroleum diesel fuels), considered

compatible with most diesel engines and

storage and distribution equipment.

Users may not get engine warranty from the

diesel engine makers. Long term effects are

not evaluated and yet to be declared as safe.

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Higher blends, even pure biodiesel (100%

biodiesel, or B100), can be used in many

engines built since 1994 with little or no

modification.

Transportation and storage, however, require

special management. Material compatibility

and warrantee issues haven't been resolved

with higher blends.

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Using biodiesel in a diesel engine reduces

emissions of unburned hydrocarbons,

carbon monoxide, sulfates, polycyclic

aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrated polycyclic

aromatic hydrocarbons, and particulate

matter.

The use of biodiesel decreases the solid

carbon fraction of particulate matter and

reduces the sulfate fraction. The soluble, or

hydrocarbon, fraction stays the same or

increases. It works well with diesel oxidation

catalysts.

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Emissions of nitrogen oxides increase with

the concentration of biodiesel in the fuel.

Some biodiesel produces more nitrogen

oxides than others, and some additives

have shown promise in modifying the

increases.

More R&D is needed to resolve this issue.

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Biodiesel is susceptible to oxidation.

It has been observed that biodiesel from

Jatropha curcas oil is relatively unstable on

storage.

It forms residual products such as insoluble

gums and aldehydes that may cause engine

problems like filter clogging, injector coking,

and corrosion of metal parts.

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Fatty acid chain / biodiesel with unsaturation

in its fatty acids offers high reactivity with

oxygen.

As the Jatropha curcas biodiesel contains

about 75% of unsaturated fatty esters, its

oxidation stability is expected to be seriously

impacted.

Further, the fatty oils with more poly

unsaturation, are more prone to oxidation

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Multi-purpose nonedible oil seed producing trees?

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The schematic shows the reactions taking place where one molecule of triglyceride (a plant oil, say, jatropha) reacts with three molecules of methanol to produce three molecules of methyl ester (bio-diesel), while one molecule of glycerol separates

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Biodiesel

Will biodiesel damage my engine?

No…if the biodiesel meets the standards of

ASTM 6751

One exception:

Biodiesel can damage certain natural

rubber engine components over time

Older engines may require the replacement of

fuel lines and some gaskets

These components are unlikely to fail

immediately but may fail with increased

biodiesel use

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SVO and WVO

Straight Vegetable Oil is not biodiesel

This includes Waste Vegetable Oil

Diesel engines can be modified to run on

vegetable oil

Some users who have modified engines have

reported long term problems using SVO

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SVO and WVO

Main Problems:

These fuels are too thick.

The must be thinned to function in a diesel engine

How? By heating or a by chemical reaction (the

chemical reaction is the biodiesel production)

Problem is worse the lower the temperature

Modified engines still typically use SVO in

conjunction with diesel for start up and shut down

No government incentives for SVO and WVO

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Finally, What is Biodiesel?

• Alternative fuel for diesel engines

• Made from vegetable oil or animal fat

• Meets health effect testing (CAA)

• Lower emissions, High flash point (>300F), Safer

• Biodegradable, Essentially non-toxic.

• Chemically, biodiesel molecules are mono-alkyl esters produced usually from triglyceride esters

Fatty Acid Alcohol Glycerin

Vegetable Oil Biodiesel