Biodiesel

Biodiesel is a biofuel produced from a variety of feedstocks including vegetable oils (such as oilseed, rapeseed, and soy beans), animal fat? or algae. It can be blended with diesel for use in diesel engine vehicles. A B20 blend is 20% biodiesel and the remainder regular petroleum-based diesel; likewise B5 is 5% blend etc.

Biodiesel and Climate Change

The National US Biodiesel Board? says US biodiesel is a green sustainable part of the solution to climate change. Biodiesel reduces lifecycle carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, by 78 percent compared to petroleum diesel¹. A 2008 USDA/University of Idaho study shows for every unit of fossil energy needed to create biodiesel, 4.5 units of energy are returned ^citation?. New cropland is not needed to grow materials for biodiesel, because there is already a surplus of soybean oil on the market. Advances in technology enable the US to grow more using the same acres of land. The National Biodiesel Board and its members are on record in support of sustainable production of biodiesel. There is no scientific basis for assigning any significant responsibility for rainforest destruction to U.S. biodiesel, and the vast majority of U.S. biodiesel is made from homegrown resources.

External links:

¹ Biodiesel Myths and Facts

National Biodiesel Board