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Biodiesel

 se of biodiesel in the 

 United States has 

 increased significantly in the last few years. As 

of May 2004 there were more 

than 400 major fleets using 

biodiesel, including all 

branches of the US military, 

Yellowstone National Park, 

NASA, several state departments of transportation, major 

public utility fleets such as 

Florida Power & Light, cities 

such as Berkeley, California, 

and more than 50 school 

districts. More than 1000 

petroleum distributors make 

biodiesel available to farmers 

and other consumers, and 

more than 200 retail pumps 

now make the fuel available to 

the public. Studies have 

shown that if every diesel 

vehicle on the road today used 

five percent biodiesel, the 

United States would displace 

the equivalent of 1.7 billion 

gallons of foreign oil.

What is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel, a domestic, renewable fuel for diesel engines, is 

a methylester produced from a 

variety of oil sources including corn oil, peanut oil, canola 

oil, fry oil, and soybean oil. 

Biodiesel is a fuel that is 

compatible with diesel 

engines, displaces imported 

petroleum, and reduces 

harmful emissions. Biodiesel 

offers similar fuel economy, 

horsepower, torque, and 

haulage rates to petroleum 

diesel while providing 

superior lubricity. Biodiesel 

can be blended with petroleum diesel in any concentration and used in existing 

diesel engines with little or no 

modification. 

With the rise of fuel prices, 

environmental concerns and a 

new biodiesel tax incentive, 

the idea of a cleaner 

pertroleum-based diesel is on 

the rise. Biodiesel is made in 

the USA and is available in all 

50 states. Biodiesel also 

presents an opportunity to 

help reduce America’s 

dependence on foreign oil.

Significant milestones have 

been reached which include 

development of a fuel 

standard, U.S. Congressional 

recognition and qualification 

as an alternative fuel, engine 

manufacturer acceptance and 

positive public image and 

acceptance. But even though 

there have been positive 

advances, biodiesel still faces 

obstacles to commercial 

viability. The primary obstacle 

is the cost of biodiesel, which 

is currently $2 to $3+ per 

gallon. The components that 

contribute the most to biodiesel fuel costs are (1) feedstock 

costs, (2) byproduct values 

and (3) production costs.

INL’s Innovation

In 1995 researchers at the 

Idaho National Laboratory 

(INL) became familiar with 

the technical limitations 

inherent with the existing 

biodiesel production 

processes. INL researchers, 

who have been active in the 

area of heterogeneous catalysis in alternative solvent 

systems, applied advanced 

engineering and process 

chemistry principles to 

biodiesel synthesis and 

conceptualized a process 

specifically targeted towards 

processing food industry oil 

U
Benefits from using biodiesel:

 • Provides 78.5% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared to petroleum diesel

 • Higher cetane number than US diesel fuel

 • High fuel lubricity and oxygen content

 • Highest BTU content of any alternative fuel

 • Safest fuel to use, handle, and store

 • Reduces particulates released into the atmosphere

 • Lessens U.S. dependence on imported oil

 • Decreases fuel consumption

 • Reduces public health risks associated with air pollution

 • Provides a higher flash point than petroleum diesel

 • Can be stored in diesel tanks and pumped with regular equipment

 • Reduces unpleasant odors

 • Provides quieter operating equipment and better engine performance

 • Highest energy balance of any fuel

 • Biodegrades as fast as sugar

 • 10 times less toxic than salt

 • Supports U.S. farmers by providing a market for excess soybean oil

A U.S. Department of Energy 

National Laboratory

Technical Contact

Dan Ginosar

208.526.9049

Daniel.Ginosar@inl.gov

Buisness Contact

David Anderson

208.526.0837

David.Anderson@inl.gov

WWW.INL.GOV

For more information:

• Allows for efficient 

 separations, and

• Limits the amount of 

 water, which can contami 

 nate the reaction.

Although other 

researchers 

have explored 

liquid solvents 

such as benzene 

and toluene to 

improve 

transesterification reaction 

rates, the INL proprietary 

solvent is preferred since it is 

non-toxic, non-flammable, 

non-hazardous, is not 

regulated under RCRA, is 

fully recyclable, and does not 

impart any negative qualities 

to the products as would 

toluene or benzene. The 

solvent is inexpensive and 

commercially available in 

large quantities. It also allows 

for high loading of oil and 

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and fat byproducts. The 

biodiesel synthesis process is 

based on a continuous, 

heterogeneous catalytic 

reaction, which uses a solid 

catalyst that is not solubilized 

into the reaction 

medium.

By employing a 

continuous, 

heterogeneous 

catalytic system, 

process limitations associated 

with the current 

batch method are significantly 

reduced because it:

• Provides higher through- 

 puts,

• Reduces process costs and 

 generates less waste,

• Creates a single reaction 

 phase and overcomes mass 

 transport limitations 

 imposed by multi-phase 

 liquid/liquid systems,

fatty acids and can be utilized 

as a pre-treatment step for 

feedstock of extremely low 

quality to selectively strip out 

the desired reaction components and leave behind 

non-reacting materials.

Partnering with the INL

The INL is soliciting interest 

from qualified industrial firms 

interested in research and 

development opportunities. It 

is anticipated that the project 

will be carried out through a 

Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreement with 

funding support being 

provided by the participant(s). 

The INL has a patent on the 

process. See U.S. Patent No. 

6,887,283. The INL invites 

interested parties to contact us 

regarding the details of 

implementing this technology 

into an operation.

An Alternative Fuel