Biodiesel solution or problem?

The scientific community is sharply divided. On the one hand, we see the supporters of biodiesel that praise him as a less polluting fossil fuel; on the other hand, there are many scientists who see an even bigger threat biodiesel oil.

The ideal would be to take advantage of the cooking oil, destined for landfill or worse, end up in the exhaust pipes, and ready to be turned into biodiesel fuel motor vehicles or to heat our homes. Theoretically, this transformation may be a reality, but it is not what happens.

Biodiesel is less polluting than the traditional fossil fuels, does not come from cooking oil, rather than its derivation is based on the exploitation of land, the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. However, often derived from petroleum.

If we consider only the process of combustion of biodiesel, the benefits in terms of emissions are tangible, but when you consider the entire life cycle, there are many questions that arise. With the production of biodiesel, the phenomenon of land grabbing has further intensified. The Western countries should exploit the territories of the remote areas.

Biodiesel is extracted by processing plants such as corn and soybeans. The rich companies producing this biofuel, need vast expanses of land. These lands are torn communities living in remote villages.

If we did not want to consider the ethical side, for the cultivation of land for biofuels, there are other facets. A spread of biodiesel would increase the cultivated land for this purpose and deforestation and, inevitably, the question. It would increase the price of the biofuel.

Biodiesel is produced from the reaction of vegetable oils with methanol to obtain, in addition to Bi-diesel, glycerin – which is sold to the cosmetics industry / pharmaceutical-product-like. This transformation is necessary because vegetable oils not having the characteristics suitable to replace diesel fuel.

According to the EIA (Energy Information Administration), in 2011 the biodiesel was derived primarily from soybean oil and rapeseed oil.