Myths about biodiesel

The engines do not tolerate mixtures of 12.5% of biodiesel in diesel oil. Is False

The use of vegetable oils in diesel engines dating back to the implementation of the first prototype presented by the German engineer Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel, who after a failed attempt using ammonia as a fuel that nearly cost him his life, he managed to put in place on 10 August 1893, the first diesel engine using palm oil as fuel. In 1897, the diesel engine began to be marketed tolerating a wide range of fuels, ranging from different vegetable oils, to distillates light oil.

With time, the engines have evolved to vary your speed in very short time. This needed to fuel more sophisticated that can be sprayed in microdroplets in a very short time. Due to its high viscosity, almost 10 times higher than the diesel fuel, vegetable oils ceased to be a suitable fuel for these new engines.

Today, with the technology of enzyme and in addition to the ultrasound system, achieves a fuel with the same benefits, without waste, but with viscosities in the same range as the diesel.

In the same extent, as the oil has had to go to evolve. Manufacturers and environmental standards were increasingly demanding a lower sulphur content. Thus, the european standards require that the diesel fuel is not allowed to exceed 10 ppm sulphur content. In Argentina, the specifications for the diesel grade 2 supports a sulphur content of 1500 ppm in some regions of the country and 500 ppm in most densely populated areas, putting at stake the life of the engine and the environment. An update of this standard that had to be implemented over 10 years ago is still in stand-by.

Over the years it has been the diesel engine on the market, there were numerous tests with different blends of biodiesel, including your use pure. Many engine manufacturers have approved the use of higher blends of biodiesel and many countries have established mandates increased to 12.5%, a threshold that posed by the new regulations. In fact, in Santa Fe were tested fleets of buses for several years with B25 (25% biodiesel) and B100. Own it made the Line 132 and 91 in CABA with B100. There were also several private initiatives, as of CLIBA, Quilmes, among the most prominent. Indonesia and Malaysia have terms of B20 and B30 and Brazil, which imports vehicles with diesel engines of Argentina, has a mandate to B14. Even, all of the engines produced by Scania, which are marketed in the country are approved to use 100% biodiesel.

Biodiesel does not work in cold climates. Is False.

Just as there are different types of oil for different seasons of the year in each region, the same thing happens with biodiesel, with the proviso that their properties are more uniform tolerate wider ranges of climate variability

In Europe, several manufacturers have approved their engines to work with B20 or B30 or up to B100 at any time of the year, including the winter in northern countries, where the temperature can exceed several degrees below zero. During the seasons with extreme climates uses more rapeseed biodiesel, while in summer they use more than the derivative of palm oil, which is cheaper. The biodiesel obtained from soybean oil is the most versatile and the most widely used in our region, without the drawbacks

There are also enzymatic technologies in the process of biodiesel production that achieve the same effect. Even, until you have developed commercial additives similar to those sold to lower the freezing point of diesel fuel.

Biodiesel increases the oil. False

Domestic refineries have the capacity to supply up to approximately 70% of the total consumption of diesel in the country (including all segments). The biodiesel replaces the diesel is imported, the cost of which is determined by the parity of import, the day of the publication of the new measures, it is more expensive than the price set by the Secretariat of Energy for biodiesel. To this date, substituting biodiesel for diesel oil imported does not cause any increased costs for refiners.

Biodiesel represents a fiscal cost to the argentine state. Is False

By its origin, renewable and less polluting, the biodiesel is desgravado of the specific taxes to the liquid fuel and the tax to the carbon dioxide that you can fit at diesel for coming from finite resources and contribute significantly to climate change and other environmental damage.

Consider replacing diesel with biodiesel represents a fiscal cost is wrong. Both are completely different products, although they have the same destination. In fact, it would be equivalent to consider that the most efficient car represent a fiscal cost by sue less oil.

Cordoba advances in the generation of biofuels.

Also to be considered in the fiscal accounts, the savings in public health that bring associated with biofuels. A very relevant figure and there are no studies in the country. In the U.S., we carried out the first study on this topic by throwing very impressive results. The work was conducted by Trinity Consultants, a company with over 40 years of experience in the realization of models of air dispersion and assessment of health risks related to, among his many areas of expertise.

The researchers found that replacing the diesel fossil biodiesel in the communities surrounding the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach would prevent around U$S 1,690 million in health care costs and loss of working days per year. But above all, there would be a reduction of 86% in the risk of cancer and prevent 17.000 emergency lung.

Biodiesel increases the price of food. Is False.

Argentina is the largest exporter of oil, and soy flour. A ton of soy are obtained approximately 740 kg of flour, 190 kg of oil, and other by-products to minors. The soy flour is a key component in the production of animal protein and, increasingly, what is in the growing market of food protein vegetables.

Argentina is responsible for half of exports global and soybean oil shipments are concentrated in five countries. To increase the production of biodiesel gives sustainability to the value chain of the soy, responsible for the increased foreign exchange earnings of the country.

Thanks to the consolidation of the production of biodiesel, installed four refining plants of glycerin, a co-product of this industry. Today, Argentina is the largest exporter in the global glycerine refined. In addition, various agencies of the State and the CONICET and Universities of the Interior are investigating in partnership with private and continue adding links to the chain from the glycerin. In this sense, it is located next to the opening of the first plant to convert the glycerin and propylene glycol, a compound that is in great demand by the chemical industry and the country imports in its entirety. There are a lot of travel and many opportunities to further explore molecules of interest to the green chemistry, a sector that comes with a lot of thrust in all the planet and where Argentina has enormous potential.

The future is the electromobility and not biofuels. Is False.

There is consensus in the world and in most of the auto manufacturers that for which the mobility is sustainable, each region should take advantage of their resources and infrastructure. It is not the same electrify road transport of the European Union, where in 5,000 miles inhabit 500 million people with high purchasing power, which in Argentina, where in the same distance there are 50 billion and with a lower ratio of cars per 1,000 inhabitants.

With a strong commitment to biofuels, IVECO and ENI agree to work together to promote sustainable mobility for commercial vehicles

Most of the criticisms of the use of biofuel comes from some activists of the European Union, not being of this community competitive in the production of biofuels as Argentina, Brazil or the US. In fact, in these last two countries has never grown as much as the production of biofuels as it is doing in these moments.

Electric mobility that drives the European Union has more to do with ideological issues and protectionist environment. In the last decade, 95% of the emissions reductions in the european transport was due to the use of biofuels, which in large part have been imported.

The assertion follows from the sayings of Marie Donnelly on October 12, 2016, when the then General Director of Renewables, Research and Energy Efficiency of the European Commission said when trying to explain in Parliament the reasons that had led to the Commission to limit to 7% the participation of biofuels with conventional transport. “We cannot simply be guided by economic models and theories of science [...] we have to be very sensitive to the reality of the concerns of the citizens, sometimes even if these concerns are more emotional than based on facts or theories of science”, he stressed, adding that the main concern with respect to biofuels, conventional is a reaction purely emotional discussion ‘food versus fuel’, as we have seen, for the case of biodiesel, are two industries are fully complementary.

There are sectors such as transport, off-road that will be virtually impossible to electrify. The same thing happens with the aviation, where biofuels are practically the only option.