Biodiesel refers to
fuel for diesel engines derived from plant or animal materials
instead of petroleum
Are Biodiesel's Environmental
Benefits Being Unfairly Presented?
Carl Street
Since the production of
biodiesel fuel requires the expenditure of energy some have claimed
that the environmental benefits of biodiesel fuel are being unfairly
presented. That, in fact, the production and use of biodiesel fuel
actually creates more environmental pollution overhead than is
commonly acknowledged.
Typically, these allegations
focus on one or more of the following: Uncounted environmental
pollution occurs in the cultivation of the source crops used as the
basis for biodiesel fuel including fertilizers, farm equipment
operation, electricity, etc. Uncounted environmental pollution
occurs in the conversion of the source crops to biodiesel fuel
including harvesting, drying, storage, adjunct chemical additives
and their production and the actual conversion process itself.
Uncounted environmental pollution occurs at the electrical
generating plants that typically supply the heat energy used in the
conversion of source crops to biodiesel fuel.
The short answer to this is
that these allegations are fundamentally true and that the
environmental pollution overhead is seldom counted when benefits of
biodiesel fuel are being touted.
That being said (some would
say admitted), this type of allegation which is usually used in some
sort of comparative analysis of biodiesel and fossil fuel, is
generally a selective context argument that fails to make a true
apples-to-apples comparison. For clarification, let's address each
of these allegations in turn in a proper context.
The first allegation while
true, fails to make a corresponding connection between the
environmental overhead cost of crop production and the environmental
overhead cost of fossil fuel location and extraction. Ask yourself,
when is the last time you saw the environmental overhead cost of
fossil fuel gasoline or diesel location and extraction included in
their pollution figures. And, this question generously ignores the
mega-environmental overhead costs of oil spills, habitat and
wild-life destruction, etc.
The second allegation is
also true but likewise also fails to make a corresponding connection
between the environmental overhead cost of crop conversion and the
environmental overhead cost of operating fossil fuel cracking and
refining plants as well as storage. For a valid comparison, the
environmental overhead cost of operating these plants and the energy
they consume should have to be included. Again, even this comparison
generously ignores the mega-environmental cost of having a hazardous
chemical and pollution generating plant. Any resident who lives near
such a plant can tell you stories of repeated hazardous waste alerts
both in the air and ground water; fires, etc.
The third allegation is
true; but in this case there are two context offsets to be
considered: Biodiesel fuel production is not alone in its
consumption of electrical power. Certainly, fossil fuel cracking and
refining plants use megawatts of electrical power and I have yet to
see this source of environmental pollution overhead included in any
fossil fuel pollution calculations. Electricity generating plants
typically have carefully controlled environments with high
efficiency fuel consumption; smoke scrubbers, etc. so pollution
created by electrical generating plants is almost certainly far less
per watt of power than pollution generated by on-site or
rolling-stock engines. And this latter point generously ignores the
fact that large amounts of electrical energy comes from
hydro-electric plants with near zero pollution production.
So the next time you hear
these allegations regarding biodiesel; be sure to point out the
selective "factual" source of these allegations and hold any such
alleger to a proper presentation of all evidence in full and
complete context.
Want to learn more about the
practicalities of biodiesel production and use? --
Click here to get a free report or visit my blog at
http://bio--diesel.blogspot.com/.
Carl Street is a San
Francisco Bay Area engineer who likes to think outside the box. He
believes that there are enough resources for everyone on earth to
live comfortably if we only are intelligent enough to use them
correctly.
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