It's a fact! Biodiesel is more environmentally friendly than petroleum diesel because it is made from renewable resources and has lower emissions. The domestic production of biodiesel generates another critical advantage over petroleum diesel by decreasing USA’s dependence on foreign oil and strengthening the American economy.

OTHER BENEFITS

• Environmental Benefits:

  Less toxic than table salt and more biodegradable than sugar, biodiesel does not contain sulfur or aromatics. Biodiesel usage results in a substantial reduction of carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons and particulate matter. A U.S. Department of Energy study showed that the production and use of biodiesel resulted in a 78.5% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared to petroleum diesel. Additionally, biodiesel has a positive energy balance. For every unit of energy needed to produce a gallon of biodiesel 4.5 units of energy are gained.



• Health Benefits:

  In 2000, biodiesel became the only alternative fuel in the country to have successfully completed the EPA-required Tier I and Tier II health effects testing under the Clean Air Act. These independent tests conclusively demonstrated biodiesel's significant reduction of virtually all regulated emissions.



• Security Benefits:

  Since biodiesel is manufactured using existing industrial production capacity, it allows the opportunity to address our nations’ energy security issues. If the true cost of using foreign oil were imposed on the price of imported fuel, renewable fuels such as biodiesel would be the most cost efficient option. For instance, the military cost to secure foreign oil is $57 billion annually. Foreign tax credits accounted for another $4 billion annually while environmental costs were estimated at $45 per barrel. For every billion dollars spent on foreign oil, America lost 10,000 - 25,000 jobs! Use of domestically produced biofuels will decrease American dependence on foreign oil.



• Economic Benefits:

  By creating 51,893 jobs, the biodiesel industry has contributed significantly to the domestic economy. Even though the biodiesel industry is relatively new, it is responsible for increasing the Gross Domestic Product by $4.287 billion. It is estimated that biodiesel will support more than 78,000 jobs by 2012. The NBB estimates that for every 100 million gallons of biodiesel produced from algae, 16.455 jobs will be created while increasing the GDP by $1.461 billion. A stable, thriving biofuel industry is a vital component for the U.S. to benefit from the commercial production of algae-based biofuels.



• Vehicle Benefits:

  Biodiesel yields a high level of combustion quality during compression ignition which is measured by the cetane number. Biodiesel has a higher cetane number than petroleum diesel fuel. In more than 50 million miles of in-field demonstrations, B20 showed similar fuel consumption, horsepower, torque, and haulage rates compared to conventional diesel fuel.

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