Biodiesel Fuel Additives - What You Need to Know

Biodiesel Fuel Additives - What You Need to Know By May Stewart

The world is now experiencing the beginning of the scarcity of its resources like coal and oil which we use as energy sources. Due to this fact, many people from young students to skilled scientists have come up with different methods of manufacturing their own biofuel. These biofuels include biodiesel, bioethers, biogas, and syngas. Biodiesel is one of the most common biofuels having a production of five to six million tons all over the world. Biodiesel, or fatty acid alkyl esters, is made by a chemical reaction of an alcohol with animal fat or a vegetable oil.

Being that biodiesel has its share of operability problems, biodiesel fuel additives are incorporated to reduce problems, including making this fuel more stable. The stability of biodiesel, specifically B100, is essential to avoid the deterioration of engine parts. Fuel additives are important for decreasing the oxidation and acid formation in engines. B100 can be destructive to an engine due to the some factors that were used in its production. A factor which is capable of causing a destructive biodiesel product is the type of manufacturing process that was performed in order to come up with the biodiesel. Another factor would be the type of oil that was used in the biodiesel production. One of the most harmful oils to an engine is animal fat because it forms polymeric gums and other such byproducts which cause deposits and plugs in the engine. Fuel additives are included in the fabrication of biodiesel to counteract all these problems.

Biodiesel fuel additives work to improve the quality of the B100 biodiesel to make it more efficient as a fuel for diesel-powered vehicles.