Home >
Farm Energy > Biodiesel
Biodiesel
NEW!
 Biodiesel is a versatile, clean-burning fuel made from renewable, biodegradable sources. It can be blended with petroleum diesel in any proportion and used in diesel engines without major modification. Biodiesel can be made from almost any vegetable oil or animal fat, through a process that is neither difficult nor prohibitively expensive.
Using biodiesel instead of petroleum diesel reduces emissions of most air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Biodiesel is biodegradable and essentially non-toxic.
Biodiesel production is growing rapidly, and some farmers are already producing their own fuel. The publications below survey the sustainability dimensions of biodiesel production and explain how to produce biodiesel in small quantities.
NOTE: Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat
PDFs. Download
Acrobat Reader.
ATTRA Publications
Success Stories
Piedmont Biofuels -- More than a Cooperative [PDF / 6M]
North Carolina Department of Transportation Switched to Biodiesel
Kentucky Biodiesel Success Stories [PDF / 719K]
Seattle Biodiesel Bus Project
Iowa Municipality Mandates Biodiesel for City Buses
Biodiesel Links
Growing and Crushing Oilseeds
Oilseed Enterprise Budgets
Oregon State University has put together enterprise budgets for canola, camelina, and flax, as well as estimates of oilseed crushing and biodiesel processing costs. Both tools are in Excel spreadsheet format and allow the user to update input costs and crop prices.
Organizations
National Biodiesel Board
A national biodiesel trade association, NBB's website includes general information about biodiesel, as well as detailed information on production, storage, regulations, and tax incentives. The NBB also maintains All Things Biodiesel, the world's largest biodiesel marketplace. It includes online biodiesel classifieds, the biodiesel store, and a biodiesel directory.
Berkeley Biodiesel Collective
Devoted to educating communities about the environmental, social, and political benefits of biodiesel and to promoting the use of locally produced biodiesel.
VeggieAvenger
Information on biofuel production, co-ops, news, and links.
Grease Works
Affiliated with the Corvallis Biodiesel Cooperative, the Grease Works website has information about biodiesel production, an online store, a links section, and a collection of biodiesel-related news articles.
Biodiesel Now
Forums, links, a mailing list, testimonials, and other resources.
Pacific Biodiesel, Inc.
Information, links, and events from one of the nation's first commercial biodiesel production plants, located in Honolulu.
Government Sites
The Alternative Fuels Data Center
Part of the U.S. Department of Energy, AFDC offers an overview of the alternative fuel industry, publications, links, and information on biodiesel and ethanol production, markets, energy balance, incentives and laws.
Biofuels Website
This U.S. Department of Energy site offers basic information on alternative fuels, including distillation and conversion methods.
Bioenergy Feedstock Information Network
A gateway to a wealth of biomass feedstock information from the U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and other research organizations.
Renewable Diesel Fuel Website
Part of the U.S. Department of Energy Biomass program, this site offers basic information on biodiesel production technologies.
The Sun Grant Initiative
A national network of land-grant universities and U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, the Sun Grant Initiative is devoted to building a bio-based economy, including research, higher education, and Extension programs.
Biodiesel Research Hub
Links to university, government and private organization research efforts in biodiesel production technologies.
Do-it-Yourself Biodiesel Links
Journey to Forever
Information, news articles, and links for a variety of renewable energy and sustainable agriculture topics, including biodiesel production.
Collaborative Biodiesel Tutorial
Technical information on biodiesel production.
Biodiesel Discussion Forums
Biodiesel & SVO Discussion Forums
Open to anyone, but participation requires (free) registration. Most discussion revolves around amateur biodiesel production.
Sustainable Information Archive: Biofuel Mailing List Service
Sponsored by Journey to Forever (see above), this service provides a searchable forum for discussion on biodiesel production, going back to 2002.
Yahoo! Biodiesel Group
Has more than 3,000 members, with searchable message archives going back to 1999. Membership (free) is required to participate in discussions.
Yahoo! Biodiesel Basics Group
This second Yahoo! biodiesel production group has over 2,000 members and archives dating back to 2004. Membership (free) is required to participate in discussions.
Greasecar: Vegetable Fuel Systems’ Community Page
Discussion topics include technical advice and general information. Use of the online forum is a free service.
Back to Farm Energy Home
Last Updated December 3, 2008
Back to top
| 
