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Biofuels such as biodiesel are derived from Organic sources such as trees, plants, animal fats and micro-organisms. Though there are people out there that incorrectly claim these fuels increase your carbon footprint, using biodiesel instead of fossil fuel actually reduces your carbon footprint. The fact of the matter is: biodiesel is made from WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil) and Oil Renderings from Grease traps and can best be described as 'carbon neutral'. These fuels do not result in carbon from fossil fuel being released into the atmosphere that was not already a part of the carbon cycle. All of the carbon contained in biodiesel is already a part of the ecosystem.
When fossil fuels are pumped from the ground and converted into energy they release additional carbon into the atmosphere that was previously trapped in the ground and not a part of the natural environment. FOG (fats oils and grease) that are used in the production of biodiesel are already a natural part of the ecosystem and the carbon cycle.
Fun Fact!
Did you know the diesel engine created by Rudolf Diesel was intended to run off of peanut oil? That’s right, biodiesel is not a departure from the original intent of the inventor, but a return to it.
How does the carbon cycle work? A quick example: Grass converts carbon dioxide into Organic molecules through the process of photosynthesis. Cows eat grass.
Humans of course eat cows in foods such as hamburgers and we use the Oil renderings from animals and plants to make many foods such as French Fries. The waste grease from the cooked foods like hamburgers accumulates in grease traps. The yellow grease from foods such as French Fries is stored in wvo containers once spent. Hulsey Environmental will travel to your restaurant and services your grease traps, empty your used grease storage containers filled with yellow grease on a regular schedule. These oil renderings will then be reclaimed and converted to biodiesel. The biodiesel is then released again into the environment from which it was born, thus being spent in a ‘carbon neutral’ way. That which came from the ecosystem returns to the ecosystem, and that which is in the ground stays in the ground.
This means that when you burn a biofuel, you are releasing the carbon back into the atmosphere that came from the atmosphere, and have no overall effect on atmospheric CO2 levels. Fossil fuels however contain carbon that has been locked up underground for millions of years. Burning a fossil fuel increases the level of CO2 in the atmosphere, but creates a carbon surplus as it is not natural to the ecosystem. This is not an environmentally friendly policy as it disrupts the natural 'carbon cycle'.
The three biofuels which are most widely used are bioethanol, biodiesel and wood. Biodiesel is made from grease renderings. Restaurants store their grease and oils in wvo collection containers and then hire a restaurant grease remover to empty their used grease storage containers. The Waste Vegetable oil is then converted to biodiesel that can be used in diesel engines, and can be mixed with standard diesel and used in most modern diesel cars with little to no modification. Biodiesel use is gradually increasing in Europe, where around 50% of new cars are sold with diesel engines.
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