3.2.2 Biodiesel
Biodiesel can be produced from any fat or oil using a process called “transesterification”.
Vegetable oil could be used in older indirect injection system diesel engines when operated in hotter climates.
Nowadays vegetable oil has to be processed into biodiesel before it can be used in a modern diesel engine.
It is the most commonly used biofuel in Europe.
It is currently mainly manufactured from vegetable oils and has an energy content that is about 10% lower than that of petroleum diesel.
EN 14214 is the common international standard for biodiesel. A "B" factor is used to indicate the level of biodiesel in a fuel mixture. B40 indicating the fuel contains 40% biodiesel, etc.
Biodiesel can be used as B100 or blended with petroleum diesel in most modern diesel engines.
In 2006 Soybean and rapeseed oils accounted for about 90% of all biodiesel.
Other sources include, but are not limited to, sunflower, mustard, canola, palm oil, hemp, algae and jatropha.
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