Biodiesel is a liquid synthetic biofuel obtained from natural lipids such as vegetable oils or animal fats. The product manufactured industrially by esterification and transesterification processes is applied to prepare total or partial substitutes for petrodiesel or gas oil obtained from petroleum.
The term biofuel refers to fuels of plant origin considered ecological, such as biodiesel whose use is widespread.
The use of this type of fuel has multiple advantages, firstly they contribute to guaranteeing the energy supply by reducing dependence on gas and oil imports. They could also mitigate the effects of climate change by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Some advantages of using this biofuel are the following:
• Biodiesel significantly reduces the primary vehicle emissions, such as carbon monoxide and volatile hydrocarbons, in the case of gasoline engines, and particulates, in the case of diesel engines.
• The production of biodiesel represents an alternative for land use that avoids the phenomena of erosion and desertification to which those agricultural lands that, for market reasons, are being abandoned by farmers, may be exposed.
• Biodiesel represents a saving of between 25% and 80% of CO2 emissions produced by petroleum-derived fuels, thus constituting an important element in reducing greenhouse gases produced by transport.
• Biodiesel is also used as an oil alternative for two-stroke engines, in various percentages; the most used percentage is 10/1.
And you? Would you be willing to use biodiesel as an alternative to oil? Remember that we are all the change we wish to have.
