Biodiesel is fully approved for use in the United States and
it has been registered as a fuel and fuel additive with the EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency). Neat biodiesel has been designated
as an alternative fuel by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the
US Department of Transportation (DOT). This fuel meets clean diesel
standards established by CARB, the California Air Resources Board.
The increasing demand of this fuel is easily observed through
the National Biodiesel Board statistics which reveals sales volume
estimates for the US in the year 1999 of 500,000 gallons; in 2000,
2 million gallons were sold. 2001 increased the sales to 5 million
gallons and it was the triple volume (15 million gallons) in the
year 2002. Then after, the sales volume continues increasing on
average good proportion, 20 million gallons in 2003, and 25 million
gallons for 2004.
A lifecycle study realized in 1998, jointly sponsored by the
US Department of Energy and the US Department of Agriculture,
concluded biodiesel's closed carbon cycle reduces net CO²
emissions by 78 percent in comparison to petroleum diesel. CO²
is released into the atmosphere after biodiesel is burned but
recycled by growing plants, which at the end are processed into
fuel. Biodiesel emissions have decreased levels of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
compounds, identified as potential cancer causing compounds. Biodiesel
exhaust has a less harmful impact on human health than petroleum
diesel fuel.
Biodiesel can be found anywhere in the United States, however
if you need to locate the nearest station to you, The National
Biodiesel Board (NBB) maintains a list of registered fuel marketer
by calling them at 1-800-841-5849 or consulting their online list
available at the NBB website, www.biodiesel.org.
It is expected biodiesel will be viewed by 2015, as an integral
component of a national energy policy which increasingly relies
on clean, domestic, renewable fuels.
|