Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy

Author: Greg Pahl

Price £12.95 Publisher Chelsea Green Publishing Co Publication date 10 May 2005 ISBN 1931498652

Publication synopsis Today, 95 per cent of global oil is consumed for transportation, and other alternatives are distant possibilities at best. We need a solution now, one that will pave the way to a saner, more sustainable energy future without massive reinvestments in infrastructure and technology transfer. We need biodiesel. A crop-derived liquid fuel, biodiesel can be made from a wide range of renewable, locally grown plant sources - even from recycled cooking oils or animal fats. The technology is simple and available today, and the benefits of biodiesel are enormous, as both a cleaner-burning vehicle fuel and a source for residential or commercial heating. Greg Pahl's new book explores the history and technology of biodiesel, its current use around the world, and its exciting potential in the United States and beyond. While biodiesel is not the answer to all our energy problems, it is an important step in the long overdue process of weaning ourselves from fossil fuels. Biodiesel is now coming onstream in Britain: a new plant being built in Scotland this Spring will boost output of the green fuel by up to 35,000 tonnes a year. Biodiesel is: More biodegradable than sugar and less toxic than table salt Produced from domestic feedstocks, reducing the need for foreign oil while boosting the local economy and supporting the agricultural community. Biodiesel can: Reduce net CO2 emissions by 78 percent compared with petroleum diesel fuel, cutting greenhouse gases that lead to global warming Be mixed with petroleum diesel at any level to produce a cleaner-burning biodiesel blend Be blended with oil for home heating, usually without any retrofits required.

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