Biodiesel – Fuel for the Future

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Biodiesel – Fuel for the Future

Diesel engines are an integral part of the economy and a part of our everyday lives. Accompany almost any of the goods we purchase daily and you will see a diesel engine in every step of its harvesting, manufacturing, or delivery. Take for example a shipment of American wheat that is destined for export overseas. Diesel engines power the tractors that are used for tilling, planting and harvesting. Diesel powered pumps are used to irrigate the fields and diesel trucks transport the wheat to a grain elevator for storage. From the grain elevator, diesel locomotives haul cars full of wheat to mills or even diesel powered barges that will in turn carry it to distant markets or ocean ports. At the ports, diesel powered equipment load the grain onto diesel powered vessels while diesel powered generators stand by to provide backup power to the docks and warehouses.

Diesel engines have been favored over gasoline engines or other sources of power because they are more versatile and cheaper to run. However, with these advantages come disadvantages; the effluent produced by the combustion of diesel fuel is one of the main contributors to worldwide environmental pollution problems. Diesel exhaust is a mixture of thousands of gases and particulate matter (PM), or soot. PM contains thousands of substances that are listed as toxic air pollutants by the Environmental Protection Agency. PM contains over 40 cancer-causing substances known as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as benzene, arsenic, formaldehyde, lead and mercury compounds. These substances can settle on water, soil and vegetation, or can be washed onto these surfaces during rainfall. Particulate matter in the lower atmosphe...

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