Laughing Stock Farm, Freeport, Maine
|
Laughing Stock Farm, Freeport, Maine |
|
|
Biodiesel Biodiesel is a
commercially viable fuel that has been developed over the last 30 years by
academic researchers, federal regulators, and the agricultural and rendering
industries. Early in this process
the agricultural and rendering industries formed the National Biodiesel Board
(NBB) to coordinate the development efforts.
These groups performed detailed scientific analysis to evaluate the
constituents of biodiesel to determine the acceptable levels of those
constituents to prevent engine damage. Once
a material was understood that caused no engine damage, it was defined as a
Preliminary Specification, PS-191, by the biodiesel committee of the American
Society for Testing Materials (ASTM). In
addition to biodiesel and petroleum products, ASTM defines virtually all
industrial and commercial materials including fluids and gasses, as well as
materials made of metal, plastic, and wood that are used in manufacturing in the
U.S.
The final biodiesel specification
ASTM D6751-02 was adopted in December of 2001 and published in early 2002, and
has been amended in 2003 to include a specification for low sulfur biodiesel .
The NBB, is one of the best sources of credible information on this topic. They have an excellent interactive database of technical articles representing the best of the last 15 years of academic and industry research on this topic. It has been estimated that up to $90 million of public and private funds have been expended studying and developing biodiesel as a legitimate commercial fuel. The links at left are provided to discuss what biodiesel is and what you must consider to protect yourself and your engine if you choose to try to make your own biodiesel. The most commonly asked question I get when I talk with people interested in making biodiesel is "If home made biodiesel is so bad, why haven't I heard this before?" The answer is because we've been listening to people we should be able to trust and not doing our homework. The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) published a document several years ago that describes what the standards are, and why they are important. Follow the link for Quality Analysis at left to learn more.
|
|
Send mail to lisa@laughingstockfarm.com with questions or comments about our farmSend to ralph@rturner.com with questions or comments about our energy project.Copyright 2008, Laughing Stock Farm
|