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As of the time of this writing there is much debate about the extent to which Biodiesel can be safely used in conventional diesel engines. Biodiesel is a better solvent than Petrodiesel and can remove old deposits from the fuel systems thereby blocking filters and injectors. It also displays a variety of corrosive properties - some inherent and some as a result of the wildly varying processing standards being applied while the industry is still effectively so splintered and immature. The further "advantage" claimed of biodegradability is also "double edged" - since the fuel can also degrade in the supply chain and some products of biodegradation are also corrosive.

These problems and mechanisms are however becoming more clearly understood and the present generation of Fuel Standards, being written in co-operation with engine and injector system makers, will result in a Biodiesel that can become a stable mainstream fuel. Until then the majority of vehicle manufacturers will remain cautious with the use of Biodiesel, however most will accept up to 5% with Peugeot and Citroen accepting 30% and Scania allowing 100% with some of their engines.

Biodiesel can also be used as a heating fuel in domestic and commercial boilers with little modification to existing light oil burners. Biodiesel can be distributed using today's infrastructure, and many fuel stations are beginning to make Biodiesel available to consumers. A growing number of transport fleets also use it as an additive in their fuel.

Biodiesel is currently more expensive to purchase than petroleum diesel and the effect of tax breaks and subsidies designed to remedy this are in fact having serious negative effects on both the environment and the production of foodstuffs. Some say they are leading to what could become a humanitarian disaster if the effect on basic food prices continues unabated.

There is very much debate about just how "green" Biofuels really are. To put it bluntly - the demand for Biofuels has simply created an industry whose sole intent is to profit from the demand - with scant regard for the environmental impact. In most cases this has resulted in Biofuels that are actually less environmentally friendly than fossil fuels. It is not possible to cover this subject in detail in this text - the links on the left lead to sites where the subject is discussed in depth for those interested - the first is our own page which presents a summary.

This Foundation is using the opportunity presented by the demand for Biofuels to establish some industrialisation where it is needed - the underlying need for the fuel to be totally "green" is one key factor that gives such an opportunity - the other is the final fuel price.

All fuel feedstocks must be non-edible oils grown in waste or marginal lands that cannot be used for food production. We would actually expect, in the long term, properly managed plantations to convert otherwise unusable surrounding lands to a state useful for food production.

All power required for fuel processing and equipment construction must be generated from the combustion of Biomass fuels to maintain that CO2 Neutral balance from "well to wheel".

Likewise - the major raw materials for equipment production, iron and steel, will be reduced and refined from the ore using the plantation Biomass waste as the carbon feedstock.

Biofuels

In essence biofuels are both an attractive and simple solution to the percieved problem of CO2 induced global warming. Alcohols can replace volatile fuels such as gasoline/petrol - Esters derived from vegetable oils can replace diesel fuels and the Biomass waste products can replace solid fuels. Any CO2 produced from their combustion is only that absorbed during the plants growth, so in an ideal world they are CO2 neutral.

It is perfectly feasible to have large scale biofuel production where the carbon neutral principle applies from "well to wheel" and the cultivation of such "fuel plants" need not interfere with the cultivation of food crops. Our sometimes shortsighted capitalist driven world though is far from perfect - it is much more profitable to chop down forests and replace foodcrops and to hell with the long term.

Ultimately common sense will prevail - if only as a result of legislation - and biofuels will become the solution they are held out to be. The combination of dryland planting, and super high density land use from such as oil producing algae, will sooner or later give us the true green biofuels needed to avert what many see as a planetary catastrophe and to replace our rapidly dwindling "fossil" oil resources.

We believe so - and will work to establishing that CO2 neutral dryland production while trying to contribute a little bit of industrial economic growth where it is needed. We know also there are many sensible far sighted people working to the same target of making green fuels really green - so, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, we will press on while patiently waiting for mankind to do the right thing - after they have exhausted all the other alternatives!

(added 17,02,08)

Biodiesel

The term Biodiesel refers to a diesel-equivalent, processed fuel derived from biological sources. Specifically alkyl esters made from the transesterification of vegetable oils or animal fats. It produces significantly fewer emissions than petroleum-based diesel when burned and is biodegradable and non-toxic.

Chemically, Biodiesel comprises a mix of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids. The most common form uses methanol to produce methyl esters, as methanol is the most readily available alcohol, though ethanol can be used to produce an ethyl ester Biodiesel and higher alcohols such as isopropanol and butanol have also been used. Using alcohols of higher molecular weights improves the cold flow properties of the resulting ester, at the cost of a less efficient transesterification reaction. After this processing, unlike straight vegetable oil, Biodiesel has combustion properties very similar to those of petroleum diesel, and can theoretically replace it in most current uses.

A byproduct of the transesterification process is the production of glycerol and the main byproduct of the oil extraction step is a seedcake which can be used directly as a fuel for electric power generation.