264 PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND POLITICS
with alcohol (ethanol or methanol) in the presence of a catalyst
to form the ethyl or methyl ester. The biomass-derived ethyl or
methyl esters can be blended with conventional diesel fuel or
used as a neat fuel (100% biodiesel). Biodiesel can be made from
any vegetable oil, animal fats, waste vegetable oils, or microalgae
oils. Soybeans and Canola (rapeseed) oils are the most common
vegetable oils used today.
Fuel-grade biodiesel must be produced to strict industry specifications (ASTM D6751) in order to insure proper performance.
Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed
the health effects testing requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments and biodiesel that meets ASTM D6751 and is legally
registered with the Environmental Protection Agency is a legal
motor fuel for sale and distribution. Raw vegetable oil cannot meet
biodiesel fuel specifications; therefore, it is not registered with the
EPA and it is not a legal motor fuel.
A totally different process than that used for biodiesel production can be used to convert biomass into a type of fuel similar to
diesel, which is known as bio-oil. The process of fast pyrolysis or
flash pyrolysis occurs when solid fuels are heated at temperatures
between 350 and 500°C for a very short period of time (<2 seconds.
The bio-oils currently produced are suitable for use in boilers for
electricity generation.
In another process, the feedstock is fed into a fluidized bed at
450 to 500°C and the feedstock flashes and vaporizes. The resulting
vapors pass into a cyclone where solid particles, char, are extracted.
The gas from the cyclone enters a quench tower where they are
quickly cooled by heat transfer using bio-oil already made in the
process. The bio-oil condenses into a product receiver and any noncondensable gases are returned to the reactor to maintain process
heating. The entire reaction from injection to quenching takes only
two seconds.
9.5 Energy Independence
Energy independence has been a political non-issue in the United
States since the first Arab oil embargo in 1973. Since that time, the
speeches of various presidents and the Congress of the United States
have continued to call for an end to the dependence on foreign oil by
the United States. Nevertheless, the United States has grown more
with alcohol (ethanol or methanol) in the presence of a catalyst
to form the ethyl or methyl ester. The biomass-derived ethyl or
methyl esters can be blended with conventional diesel fuel or
used as a neat fuel (100% biodiesel). Biodiesel can be made from
any vegetable oil, animal fats, waste vegetable oils, or microalgae
oils. Soybeans and Canola (rapeseed) oils are the most common
vegetable oils used today.
Fuel-grade biodiesel must be produced to strict industry specifications (ASTM D6751) in order to insure proper performance.
Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed
the health effects testing requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments and biodiesel that meets ASTM D6751 and is legally
registered with the Environmental Protection Agency is a legal
motor fuel for sale and distribution. Raw vegetable oil cannot meet
biodiesel fuel specifications; therefore, it is not registered with the
EPA and it is not a legal motor fuel.
A totally different process than that used for biodiesel production can be used to convert biomass into a type of fuel similar to
diesel, which is known as bio-oil. The process of fast pyrolysis or
flash pyrolysis occurs when solid fuels are heated at temperatures
between 350 and 500°C for a very short period of time (<2 seconds.
The bio-oils currently produced are suitable for use in boilers for
electricity generation.
In another process, the feedstock is fed into a fluidized bed at
450 to 500°C and the feedstock flashes and vaporizes. The resulting
vapors pass into a cyclone where solid particles, char, are extracted.
The gas from the cyclone enters a quench tower where they are
quickly cooled by heat transfer using bio-oil already made in the
process. The bio-oil condenses into a product receiver and any noncondensable gases are returned to the reactor to maintain process
heating. The entire reaction from injection to quenching takes only
two seconds.
9.5 Energy Independence
Energy independence has been a political non-issue in the United
States since the first Arab oil embargo in 1973. Since that time, the
speeches of various presidents and the Congress of the United States
have continued to call for an end to the dependence on foreign oil by
the United States. Nevertheless, the United States has grown more