How Much Does It Cost To Produce Biodiesel ?

Biodiesel fuel is produced from animal fats or used vegetable oil that may be added to petroleum or replace entirely conventional diesel petroleum fuel.  Almost all biodiesel in the United States is created from canola or soybean oils.

Blends of petroleum and biodiesel are assigned with letter “B,” then by the biodiesel volumetric percentage in the mixture, so that B20, which is the mixture most often assessed, contains 20% biodiesel then 80% petroleum diesel.

We're all now well aware of the beneficial effects of biodiesel but how much does it cost to produce biodiesel ?

By quite a few significant measures, biodiesel mixtures perform better compared to petroleum diesel, however its comparatively high cost of production and the restricted availability of a number of raw materials that is being utilized, biodiesel fuel production, which is about 3 times more as that of petroleum diesel, can not be applied commercially.

All companies that are at present producing biodiesel still employs a high temperature, high pressure, technique that is extremely costly and energy intensive.

Nevertheless, researchers are working constantly with the “biodiesel fuel” industry to decrease the production cost and be able to compete with petroleum diesel in next four to five years.

How much is the pump-up cost of biodiesel?

B100 (pure biodiesel) is two times higher compared to conventional diesel, whereas lower biodiesel mixtures show more reasonable increases. Biodiesel pump-up price varies from state to state and depends on the biodiesel source and its mixture percentage.

Most individuals who produce biodiesel regard their own biodiesel production as their hobby and only for their personal consumption.

How much can you save if you produce your own biodiesel?

Your instant savings for every gallon is about $1.50 which is the usual cost of petroleum diesel minus $0.70 which is the biodiesel production cost.

Biodiesel supplies cost

Used or waste cooking oil generally is widely available and for free from local restaurants, or may cost about 15 cents per pound.
Aside from the processing equipment initial cost, production of biodiesel costs also include chemical costs utilized in the process, electricity and expenses as well as your labor.

Lye costs about $5 a pound at hardware stores, but can be acquired for $3 per pound in bulk of 25 pounds a bag. You need will be needing approximately 1.5 pounds for every 40 gallons of biodiesel fuel.

Methanol (near pure) costs around $2.36 in bulk, a gallon, however, you need only 1/5 a gallon of methanol for each biodiesel gallon that you will produce or 8 gallons of methanol is required for 40 gallons of biodiesel.

Keep in mind however, that methanol cost varies considerably, depending where you obtain it. Methanol is considered a hazardous chemical, therefore shipping costs is expensive. In fact, 18 ounces of “sodium hydroxide” is can range from 7-8 dollars.
Reducing production costs of biodiesel

If you plan your biodiesel production volumes meticulously, you can acquire supplies such as lye and methanol in greater volumes so you can keep costs per-unit down.

Following a system to store and collect supplies in huge quantities will likewise lessen your transportation and labor time costs.

Biodiesel is growing in popularity and U.S. sales raised from 7,000,000 gallons in the year 2000, to 20,000,000 gallons in the year 2001. Currently, it is available in seven states.

By utilizing both waste grease and used “agricultural oils”, it is calculated that biodiesel production costs may be slashed down by 50 percent, thereby making biodiesel very reasonable and can compete with pure petroleum diesel.