Biodegradability

Biodiesel has desirable degradation attributes which make it the fuel of choice for environmentally conscious users. Studies at the University of Idaho compared the biodegradation of biodiesel in an aqueous solution to diesel fuel and dextrose (sugar). Biodiesel samples degraded more rapidly than sugar, and were 95% degraded at the end of 28 days. Normal petroleum based diesel fuel was only about 40% degraded after the same 28 day test period.

Infrastructure

The standard storage and handling procedures used for petroleum diesel can also be used for biodiesel. There is no problem mixing biodiesel with diesel fuel in storage tanks or in vehicles.

Flash Point

Biodiesel and even petroleum diesel that has been blended with biodiesel is safer to store, handle and use than conventional diesel fuel. Biodiesel has a flash point of 150°C (300°F), which is much higher than the flash point of petroleum based diesel fuel which is ± 70°C (150°F). (The flash point of a fuel is defined as the temperature at which the fuel becomes a mixture that will ignite when exposed to a spark or flame)

Lubricity

Biodiesel is a fantastic lubricity additive and biodiesel is going to become even more important as they moves towards using Ultra Low Sulfur diesel fuel. Testing at Southwest Research Institute, have demonstrated that biodiesel provides significant lubricity improvement over petroleum diesel fuel, even at blend levels as low as 1% so engines last longer.

Emissions reductions

Particulate emissions from conventional diesel engines are generally divided into three components. The first component, and the one most closely related to the visible smoke often associated with diesel exhaust, is the carbonaceous material. This material is composed of sub-micron sized carbon particles which are formed during the diesel combustion process. It is especially prevalent under conditions when the fuel-air ratio is overly rich, such as full acceleration, maximum power or on start up.

The second component is hydrocarbon material which is absorbed on the carbon particles, commonly referred to as the soluble fraction. A portion of these material results from incomplete combustion of the fuel and the remainder is derived from engine lube oil that passes by the piston oil rings. The third particulate component is comprised of sulfates and bound water, with the amount of material being directly related to the fuel's sulfur content.

The use of Biodiesel decreases the solid carbon fraction of particulate matter as the increased amount of oxygen present in Biodiesel enables a more complete combustion process.

Other emissions reduction from Biodiesel includes:

Biodiesel, over time, will soften and degrade certain types of elastomers and natural rubber compounds such as Nitrile, Polypropylene, Polyvinyl, Tygon, and Fluorosilicon which are used in older fuel hoses and pump seal systems. These materials can be replaced by the following Biodiesel compatible materials: Teflon, Nylon 6/6, Viton A401-C, and Viton GFLT. Most vehicles made after 1994 will have fully synthetic fuel lines and seals so they will not suffer from this problem.

Biodiesel will clean your injectors and fuel lines extremely well as it is such an excellent solvent. If you have an old diesel vehicle, there is a chance that your first tank or two of Biodiesel could free up all the accumulated crud and clog your fuel lines and filters.

Biodiesel has a higher gel point. 100% Biodiesel, referred to as B100, gets slushy at 32°F. A blend of 20% Biodiesel, 80% regular diesel, B20, has a gel point of 7°F. Like regular diesel, the gel point can be lowered further with additives such as kerosene, which are blended into winter diesel in cold-weather areas