GreenEnergyForEarth.com – Alternative Energy News and Green Products

Aug 29, 2008 – Alexander H. Tullo in Chemistry & Engineering News reports on the use of catalysts in the preparation of biodiesel fuel. DuPont, Evonik Industries and BASF are not the usual corporate names that one associates with green energy biodiesel.  But its chemistry, not wizardry, that converts animal fats and vegetable oils into biodiesel and its byproduct glycerin.  These three along with others provide sodium methylate, also know as sodium methoxide, that is used as a catalyst in the production process.  Sodium methylate is used in 70% of the production whereas the less expensive sodium hydroxide, lye, was used previously.  Despite the extra cost of sodium methylate it is preferred due to increased biodiesel yields, ease of use due to its being a liquid whereas lye is a solid powder, and lack of foaming. As biodiesel production has increased sodium methylate production has  increased from 500,000 gallons in 1999 to 450 million gallons in 2007.  Is the market going to continue to increase exponentially?  We have all seen the rapid increase in oil prices.  Thus,  biodiesel should be in great demand.  However, less people have noticed that soybean oil prices have increased more than the price for conventional diesel fuel. Nevertheless, another 1.2 billion gallons of annual capacity is planned to come on line in the next year and a half. On the positive side for future growth of this market is that the US Renewable Fuel Standard requires 500 million gallons of biodiesel in 2009 and 1 billion gallons in 2012.  Other methods to produce diesel fuel are under investigation and may affect the continuing growth of this market.