Soy biodiesel
Soy biodiesel What is soy biodiesel? Biodiesel consists of mono alkyl esters produced from vegetable oils,animal or old cooking fats. Soy biodiesel is fuel alternative produced from soybean oil. Biodiesel contains no petroleum diesel, but it can be blended with petroleum diesel. Since the oil embargo of 1973 by the OPEC a lot of research was done on biodiesel in various universities and government agencies in the USA. Soy biodiesel can be used in diesel engines with little or no modifications. Soy biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby the glycerin is separated from the soybean oil. The process gives two products: methyl esters (the chemical name for biodiesel) and glycerin (used to make soap). Biodiesel is mainly produced and used in the USA. In 1999 about 0.5 million gallons was produced and this value increased to about 25 million gallons in 2003. Advantages of soy biodiesel As compared to normal diesel, soy biodiesel has following advantages...