CHAPTER

Introduction to biodiesel
and glossary of terms
2
National Biodiesel Board, Jefferson City, USA
• What is biodiesel?dBiodiesel is a drop-in diesel alternative, made from do-
mestic, renewable resources such as plant oils, animal fats, used cooking oil,
and even new sources such as algae. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can
be blended with petroleum diesel. Biodiesel blends can be used in compression-
ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel burns cleaner
and is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and
aromatics. Biodiesel is America’s advanced biofuel.
• What biodiesel is notdBiodiesel is not raw vegetable oil. Fuel-grade biodiesel
must be produced to strict industry specifications (ASTM D6751) to ensure
proper performance. Only biodiesel that meets the specification and is regis-
tered with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a legal motor fuel.
• Biodiesel is not the same as ethanoldBiodiesel is made from a variety of
materials for use in diesel engines, with properties and benefits different
from those of ethanol.
• Biodiesel, n.dA fuel composed of monoalkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids
derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, meeting ASTM D6751, designated
B100 (i.e., the pure fuel).
• Biodiesel blend, n.dA blend of biodiesel fuel with petroleum-based diesel fuel
designated BXX, where XX is the volume percent of biodiesel (i.e., B5 ¼ 5%
biodiesel blended with 95% petroleum diesel; B20 ¼ 20% biodiesel blended
with 80% petroleum diesel, etc.).
• FeedstocksdThe raw materials used to make biodiesel fuel. Common biodiesel
feedstocks in the United States include:
• Vegetable oils from soybeans, canola, Camelina, sunflower, cottonseed
• Dry distillers grain corn oil left over from ethanol production process
• Used cooking oil/yellow grease
• Animal fats including beef tallow, pork lard, poultry fat
• Future feedstocks including algae, pennycress, Jatropha, brown grease,
halophytes, low-ricin castor oil, and others
• TransesterificationdBiodiesel is made by a chemical process called trans-
esterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil.
The process leaves behind two productsdmethyl esters (the chemical name for
biodiesel) and glycerin (a valuable by-product usually sold to be used in soaps
and other products).
Bioenergy. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815497-7.00002-6 45
Copyright © 2020 Anju Dahiya. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
46 CHAPTER 2 Introduction to biodiesel and glossary of terms

• Advanced Biofuel (EPA Definition 40 CFR 80.1401)dAdvanced Biofuel

means renewable fuel, other than ethanol-derived from cornstarch, which has
lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are at least 50% less than
baseline lifecycle GHG emissions (i.e., diesel fuel).
• Biodiesel is America’s first domestically produced, commercially available
advanced biofuel and meets EPA requirements for inclusion and use under
the new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS-2).
• US biodiesel reduces lifecycle carbon emissions by 57%e86% compared
with petroleum diesel.
• Energy balancedThe arithmetic balancing of energy inputs versus outputs for
an object, reactor, or other processing system; it is positive if energy is released
and negative if it is absorbed.
• Biodiesel has the highest positive energy balance (5.54:1) of any
commercially available fuel, returning 5.54 units of renewable energy for
every one unit of fossil energy needed to produce it. As petroleum diesel has
a negative energy balance of 0.88, every gallon of biodiesel used has the
potential to extend our petroleum reserves by over 4 gallons.
• Cetane numberdA measurement of the combustion quality of diesel fuel during
compression ignition. It is a significant expression of the quality of a diesel fuel.
Biodiesel generally has a higher cetane number (average over 50) compared with
diesel fuel (average 42e44), making biodiesel a cleaner burning fuel.
• ViscositydViscosity is a measurement of how resistant a fluid is to attempts to
move through it. A fluid with a low viscosity is said to be “thin,” whereas a high-
viscosity fluid is said to be “thick.” Properly processed biodiesel has a viscosity
that is in the same range as that of conventional diesel; however, the viscosity of
the raw, unprocessed vegetable oil is much thicker than that of diesel.
• Cold flow propertiesdThree important cold weather parameters that define
operability for diesel fuels and biodiesel are:
• Cloud pointdTemperature at which crystals first appear
• Cold filter plugging pointdThe lowest operating temperature at which a
vehicle will operate
• Pour pointdThe lowest temperature at which fuel is observed to flow
• Users of a B20 blend with #2 diesel will usually experience an increase of
these properties beginning at approximately 2e10 F.
• Similar precautions employed for petroleum diesel are needed for fueling
with B20 blends during cold weather.
• LubricitydLubricity is the measure of the reduction in friction of a lubricant.
In a modern diesel engine, the fuel is part of the engine lubrication process.
Diesel fuel naturally contains sulfur compounds that provide good lubricity, but
because of regulations in the United States, sulfur must be removed.
• Biodiesel has excellent lubricity properties, and even in low blends of 1%
e2% it can completely replace the lubricity that is lost in today’s ultra-low-
sulfur diesel (ULSD). Without biodiesel added, ULSD has a lower lubricity
and requires lubricity-improving additives to prevent excessive engine wear.
 Introduction to biodiesel and glossary of terms 47

• ASTMdASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for

Testing and Materials (ASTM), is a globally recognized leader in the devel-
opment and delivery of international voluntary consensus standards. Working in
an open and transparent process and using ASTM’s advanced electronic
infrastructure, ASTM members deliver the test methods, specifications, guides,
and practices that support industries and governments worldwide.
The ASTM standards for biodiesel are as follows:
• ASTM D6751 is the approved standard for B100 for blending up to B20, in effect
since 2001.
• Performance-based standard: Feedstock and process neutral.
• ASTM D975dCovers petrodiesel and blends up to 5% biodiesel maximum for
on/off road engines; B5 is now fungible with diesel fuel.
• ASTM D396dCovers heating oil and blends up to 5% biodiesel; B5 is now
fungible with petro-based heating oil.
• ASTM D7467dCovers blends containing 6%e20% biodiesel for on/off road
engines.
• Designed so that if B100 meets D6751 and petro diesel meets D975, then B6
to B20 blends will meet their specifications; important quality control is at
the B100 level.
• BQ-9000dBQ-9000 is a cooperative and voluntary fuel-quality management
program for the accreditation of laboratories, producers, and marketers of
biodiesel fuel. The program is a unique combination of the ASTM standard for
biodiesel, ASTM D6751, and a quality-systems program that includes storage,
sampling, testing, blending, shipping, distribution, and fuel management
practices. More than 81% of the biodiesel in the United States is now sup-
plied by BQ-9000-certified suppliers. For more information, visit www.bq-
9000.org.
• RFS-2dThe original RFS program was created under the Energy Policy Act
(EPACT) of 2005 and established the first renewable fuel volume mandate in
the United States.
Under the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, the RFS-2
program was expanded in several key ways:
• EISA expanded the RFS program to include diesel and biodiesel, in addition to
gasoline.
• EISA increased the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into
transportation fuel from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
• EISA established new categories of renewable fuel and set separate volume re-
quirements for each one (biodiesel qualifies for the RFS-2 under the categories
of Biomass-Based Diesel and Non-Cellulosic Advanced Biofuel).
• EISA required EPA to apply lifecycle GHG performance threshold standards to
ensure that each category of renewable fuel emits fewer GHGs than the pe-
troleum fuel it replaces.
48 CHAPTER 2 Introduction to biodiesel and glossary of terms

• EPACT CreditsdEPACT stands for the Energy Policy Act of 1992, later
amended by EPACT of 2005. Under Title III of EPACT 1992, 75% of a federal
fleet’s covered light-duty vehicle acquisitions in US metropolitan areas must be
alternative-fueled vehicles.
• Agencies also receive credits for each light-, medium-, and heavy-duty alter-
native fuel vehicles (AFVs) they acquire each year and for the use of B20
biodiesel blends. Simply switching over a diesel vehicle fleet to use B20 bio-
diesel represents one of the most economical options for EPACT compli-
ance for fleets because no vehicle modifications or special equipment are
needed to use biodiesel. Visit http://www.fleet.wv.gov for more information.
• CAFE (corporate average fuel economy) CreditsdThe US EPA and US
Department of Transportation finalized new fuel-efficiency standards on August
28, 2012. The new CAFE standards will increase fuel economy to the equivalent
of 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks by model year (MY) 2025.
• Currently the EPA provides GHG emissions incentives in the form of CAFE
credits to automakers that produce vehicles capable of operating on biofuels,
specifically B20 biodiesel blends. However, those incentives under the light-
duty vehicle GHG program are set to expire after MY2015.

Biodiesel standards
ASTM D6751 is the approved standard for B100 for blending up to B20, in effect
since 2001.
Performance-based standard: feedstock and process neutral.
D975dCovers petrodiesel and blends up to 5% biodiesel maximum for on/off
road engines; B5 is now fungible with diesel fuel.
D396dCovers heating oil and blends up to 5% biodiesel; B5 is now fungible
with petro-based heating oil.
D7467dCovers blends containing 6% to 20% biodiesel (B6eB20) for on/off
road engines.
Designed so that if B100 meets D6751 and petro diesel meets D975, then B6 to
B20 blends will meet their specifications.
Important quality control is at B100 level.

BQ-9000 fuel quality program

The biodiesel industry has an excellent fuel quality management program called
BQ-9000 (www.bq-9000.org)
• The BQ-9000 program helps biodiesel producers, marketers, and laboratories put
quality management systems in place to ensure that only the highest quality
biodiesel meeting ASTM specifications gets put into your customers’ fuel tanks.
 BQ-9000 fuel quality program 49

• This quality-control system covers everything from biodiesel manufacturing,

sampling, testing, blending, storage, shipping, and distribution.
• The process yields an ASTM-grade fuel, produced and supplied by BQ-9000-
certified companies.
• Many original equipment manufacturer (OEM) are now either requiring or
strongly encouraging their customers to source their fuel from BQ-9000-
certified suppliers.

Acknowledgments
This factsheet is published with permission from the National Biodiesel Board http://www.
biodiesel.org/. The editor is grateful to Ray Albrecht, P.E. (Technical Representative, North-
east US Region), and Jessica Robinson, Director of Communications, for their time and effort
in making it available for this book.