According to Loren Isom, UNL Technical Assistance Coordinator and Bill Booker, UNL Extension Educator, it is produced through a chemical reaction that removes glycerin molecules from the triglyceride molecules. This process, called transesterification, results in a fuel with properties very similar to petroleum-based diesel fuels.
The primary differences between biodiesel and petroleum diesel are the reduced emission profile when biodiesel is burned and cold flow constraints associated with biodiesel fuel.
Biodiesel production is expanding rapidly in the U.S. and around the world. The U.S. biodiesel industry has grown from selling a half a million gallons in 1999 to sales over 250 million gallons in 2006. Production capacity also has expanded dramatically in anticipation of continued growth.
Animal fat, a co-product of the animal slaughter and rendering industry, is typically priced at a discount to vegetable oils. However, due to strong demand, the price of animal fat has risen from historical prices of 10 to 15 cents per pound to nearly 30 cents per pound in September 2007.
Biodiesel produced from animal fat has a gel point of approximately 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which limits its use as a neat fuel or even a biodiesel-petroleum fuel blend. The gel point for biodiesel produced from vegetable oil is approximately 25 to 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and when blended with petroleum diesel fuel at levels below 20 percent, it only raises the gel point of biodiesel-petroleum fuel blends a couple of degrees.
Soybean oil is the leading vegetable oil produced in the U.S. and is a co-product of soybean processing that has been processed primarily for soybean meal, a high protein animal feed. The availability of soybean oil and soybean processing facilities makes soybean oil the primary feedstock for the U.S. biodiesel industry.
Other oilseed crops, such as sunflower, canola, brown mustard and camelina can produce greater quantities of oil per acre, but production of these alternative oilseed crops is not common in Nebraska. Furthermore, processing facilities for these crops and markets for the protein meal co-products currently do not exist in Nebraska.
An advantage of sunflower and canola production over other alternative oilseeds is that production practices and co-product markets common outside of Nebraska could be adopted from nearby regions. Due to the higher oil content, mechanical processing facilities may be feasible at the local level rather than transporting oilseeds long distances to large-scale solvent extraction facilities.
Oilseed production and processing are key issues for the biodiesel industry, but they also are key issues for Nebraska’s agricultural producers as they adopt production practices and crop rotations systems to maximize benefits from the biofuel industry market demands.
