On March 17th, the government will announce an increase in the blending of biodiesel with diesel oil sold at service stations. Today the content is 10% (it has already reached 13%). The expectation is that the government will publish a schedule to gradually increase this mixture until it reaches 15% in March 2024. This means that drivers and companies that use diesel will have a fuel that will emit less pollutants, which is great news. .
Given this greater presence of biodiesel in everyone’s daily lives, it is convenient to know more about this biofuel. It is a product that goes far beyond being a renewable fuel alternative and that surprises many people.
What is it:
Biodiesel is a biofuel obtained from the conversion of vegetable oils extracted from oilseeds such as soy, palm and sunflower, or animal fat from cattle, pigs, poultry, etc. which, after going through purification processes to adapt to quality specifications, is intended for application in diesel cycle engines as a partial or total substitute for diesel of mineral origin (called diesel A).
Quality:
Biodiesel is clean and is produced in Brazil. It is a Brazilian invention, by the chemical engineer Expedito Parente. The federal government, Brazilian researchers and scientists and the private sector conducted scientific tests and this set of works concludes that biodiesel is of high quality and can be added to mineral diesel, even in percentages higher than 15%. In other countries there are already uses of mixtures between 20% and 30%. In Brazil, companies conduct tests even with equipment powered by 100% biodiesel. For those who want to know more about the studies endorsed by the government, here are links to two of them:
• Compliance with the recommendations of the Report on consolidation of tests and trials to validate the use of Biodiesel B15 in engines and vehicles
• Consolidation report of tests and trials to validate the use of Biodiesel B15 in engines and vehicles
These studies also clarify that biodiesel does not cause problems in engines, and to avoid any issue, the production chain and users must follow the recommendations of the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).
Good habits:
Increasing the blend’s content to 15% is not the only agenda being discussed in Brasília. On the initiative of the Joint Biodiesel Parliamentary Front (FPBio), of the National Congress, bill 134/2020 is being processed in the Chamber of Deputies. He creates a system to track the quality of diesel sold to consumers (it is called diesel B, which contains the mixture). After this project is approved, the system can be implemented and it will be useful for the authorities to monitor whether or not the agents in the production chain are complying with good production, storage, transportation, handling practices, both for diesel and biodiesel. Problems in engines can occur due to lack of maintenance or cleaning, for example, in tank trucks, in storage tanks at gas stations, among other cases. As for biodiesel, this biofuel has its quality fully tested and that is the only way it can leave the producing plant to be mixed with diesel oil.
Benefits:
Biodiesel production adds value to soybeans, vegetable oils and animal fats; it generates jobs, income, investments and development for the countryside and cities – the plants authorized to produce (58) are also obliged to buy raw materials from family farmers. Its use is a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. With less pollutants, there are less cardiorespiratory diseases, which is good for people and for the public health system.
The portion of biodiesel avoids greater imports of diesel (called S500, highly polluting), which saves the country many millions of reais. And it favors the cost of living, after all, the greater production of biodiesel gives the opportunity to lower prices of meat and eggs, and also of meat for export, because its production generates an increase in supply and a consequent drop in the price of bran for animal feed: the soy bran and oil result from the same process of crushing the soy bean when producing biodiesel.
References:
There are several sources of knowledge about this biofuel, including:
• Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove)
• Association of Biofuel Producers in Brazil (Aprobio)
• Brazilian Union of Biodiesel and Biokerosene (Ubrabio)
• Mixed Biodiesel Parliamentary Front (FPBio)