page_title: Biodiesel
section_title: Availability and prices
hierarchical_section_title: Biodiesel / Availability and prices
caption_attribution_description: Diesel prices at a local filling station in Kafertal, Mannheim, on 26-03-2007. Photo taken by Bob Tubbs.
context_page_description: Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat, soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with an alcohol, producing a methyl, ethyl or propyl ester.
  Unlike the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines, biodiesel is a drop-in biofuel, meaning it is compatible with existing diesel engines and distribution infrastructure. Biodiesel can be used alone or blended with petrodiesel in any proportions. Biodiesel blends can also be used as heating oil.
  The US National Biodiesel Board defines "biodiesel" as a mono-alkyl ester.
context_section_description: Global biodiesel production reached 3.8 million tons in 2005. Approximately 85% of biodiesel production came from the European Union.
  In 2007, in the United States, average retail (at the pump) prices, including federal and state fuel taxes, of B2/B5 were lower than petroleum diesel by about 12 cents, and B20 blends were the same as petrodiesel. However, as part of a dramatic shift in diesel pricing, by July 2009, the US DOE was reporting average costs of B20 15 cents per gallon higher than petroleum diesel ($2.69/gal vs. $2.54/gal). B99 and B100 generally cost more than petrodiesel except where local governments provide a tax incentive or subsidy.
  In the month of October 2016, Biodiesel (B20) was 2 cents lower/gallon than petrodiesel.
caption: In some countries biodiesel is less expensive than conventional diesel
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