Biodiesel

Biodiesel is a diesel-like fuel composed mainly of fatty acid esters, usually made by converting oils or fats. It can be used in diesel engines, often blended with petroleum diesel.

Transesterification: A reaction that exchanges an ester’s alcohol-derived group, often using another alcohol and a catalyst. This reaction converts triglycerides in oils and fats into biodiesel esters.
Biodiesel blend: A fuel made by mixing biodiesel with petroleum diesel, commonly designated by its biodiesel percentage. Blending is the standard way biodiesel enters many diesel-fuel supply systems.
Rudolf Diesel: A German engineer who developed the compression-ignition engine named after him. His early engine experiments included operation on vegetable oil, a precursor to modern biodiesel use.
Life-cycle assessment: A method for evaluating environmental impacts across a product’s stages, from raw-material extraction to disposal. It compares biodiesel emissions and resource use with petroleum diesel across production and use.
Petroleum diesel: A liquid fuel refined from crude oil for compression-ignition engines. It is biodiesel’s principal blend partner and the conventional fuel it can partly replace.
Triglyceride: A molecule consisting of glycerol esterified with three fatty acids; the main component of many fats and oils. Triglycerides are the primary feedstock molecules transformed during biodiesel production.
Diesel engine: An internal-combustion engine that ignites fuel by compressing air until it becomes hot. Biodiesel can power diesel engines because its ignition and combustion behavior suit compression ignition.
Vegetable oil: A liquid fat extracted from plants, composed primarily of triglycerides. Vegetable oils are major raw materials from which biodiesel is produced.
Greenhouse gas emissions: Gases released into the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect and climate change. Biodiesel’s climate impact varies with feedstock, processing energy, transport, and land-use change.
Renewable diesel: A hydrocarbon diesel fuel made from renewable feedstocks through processes such as hydrotreating. Unlike biodiesel esters, it is chemically similar to petroleum diesel and can be used as a drop-in fuel.

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