Biodiesel Fact SheetRochester Institute of Technology — September 2012

Biodiesel fuel facts:

• Canbeusedinanyvehicleorequipmentthatrunsonpetroleumdiesel

• Typicallybiodieselisusedinblendsupto20%(B20)insummerand5%(B5)inwinter.

Biodiesel advantages over petroleum diesel fuel:

1.Upto86%reductioningreenhousegasemissions(primarilyCO2)sinceitisa plant-basedfuel(EPA-420-R-10-006,February2010)

2.Reductioninvehicleexhaustemissions(reducedCO,unburnedhydrocarbons, andparticulate)

3.Helpskeepthevehicle’sfuelsystemclean(biodieselsolvency)

4.Biodieselismoreeasilybiodegradedcomparedtopetroleumdiesel.Therefore environmentalrisksduetospillsarelessproblematic.However,biodieselcan degradeinthepresenceofmoistureandbacteriaduringextendedstorage.

5.Biodieselhasahigherflashpoint(130°Cminimum)comparedtopetroleumdiesel (52°Cminimum)soitissafertotransportandstore.

Biodiesel from waste cooking oil facts:

• Thechemicalconversionprocessisrelativelysimple,requiringheating,mixing,andtwosetsofchemicaladditions.

• Themainbyproductsofthebiodieselprocessareglycerinandwastewatercontainingsomesalts, residualglycerin,andsmallamountsofmethanol

• Anycookingoilcanbeconvertedtobiodiesel.Canolaandsoybeanoilarethemostcommonbutotherssuchas cottonseedoil,peanutoil,andcornoilarealsoconvertibletobiodieselwiththesamechemicalprocess.

• Thetypicalconversionrateis50gallonsofoiltoproduceabout45gallonsofbiodiesel

• Thecostofproducingbiodieselfromwastecookingoilisestimatedtobeatleast$1.00pergallonlessthanthe costofdiesel.Ifthesourceofwastecookingoilisfree,thenthecostofproducingthebiodieselisrelatively stablecomparedtothevolatilecostofpetroleumdiesel.

Sources and properties of waste cooking oil:

• Fryeroilfromrestaurantsandcafeteriashasbecomeacommodityduetothedemandforbiodiesel.

• Fryeroiltendstohavehighfreefattyacids(FFA)whichisabreakdownproductoftheoilduetoextendedtimeat hightemperatures.TheFFAcontentrequiressomepretreatmentbeforetheactualbiodieselreactiontoprevent soapformation.

• HomecookingoilstendtobelowinFFAbutmuchhigherinfoodparticlesandwater.Bothcontaminantsrequire someadditionalsteps(screeningforthefoodparticlesandwatersettlinganddryingsteps)toensureaquality biodieselfuel.

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Biodiesel production equipment:

• Theequipmentcanbeassimpleasasteeldrumwithaheaterandmixer,oroff-the-shelfequipmentsuchasthe BioPro190(Springboard)whichhassequentialprocesscontrolsforunsupervisedbiodieselproduction.

• Dependingonthecookingoilsource,theremayneedtobesomeadditionalequipmentsuchasasettlingtankto helpseparatetheoilfromthewaterinthewasteoil(residentialcookingoil).

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Residential Cooking Oil with large amounts of water and fine food particles

Restaurant Fryer Oil, dark from heat degradation

Automated BioPro equipment, RIT Manual equipment, Daphne, Alabama

ThisflyerwasdevelopedunderAssistantAgreementNo.83495101awardedbytheU.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency.IthasnotbeenformallyreviewedbyEPA.TheviewsexpressedaresolelythoseofMonroeCountyandEPAdoesnotendorseanyproductsorcommercialservicesmentioned.

FundingprovidedinpartbyNYSDepartmentofEnvironmentalConservation