Biodiesel refers to the chemical reaction of vegetable oil and animal fat based lipids with alcohol to produce fatty acid esters. Here at Davidson Environmental, we have recently purchased our own Biodiesel processing machine – specifically we purchased the BioPro 190 Automated Biodiesel Processor to start processing, mixing, creating and USING our own biodiesel from vegetable oil and animal fats that we pick up from our customers.
Derived from naturally occurring oils/grease/fats, biodiesel one of the safest, cleanest and most sustainable types of fuel on the market. Its biodegradable composition makes it much less harmful to the environment, and it produces less air pollutants in comparison to petroleum-based diesel.
Although Biodiesel often contains some part of fossil fuel derived diesel, this fuel type will always be safer, cleaner and more sustainable then their 100% fossil fuel derived counter parts. Generally, the most popular blend of biodiesel is B20 – composed of 20% biodiesel and 80% petrodiesel. The reason for this blends popularity is because it is the highest amount of biodiesel to petrodiesel ratio that can be used in diesel equipment with little to no modifications. Of course, biodiesel in its pure form (referred to as B100) can be used but it is not as common as it usually requires certain engine modifications to avoid maintenance and performance issues. In Canada, it becomes difficult to run B100 in regular engines, solely based on climate. The cold weather hinders biodiesel performance in all aspects, so the blend is necessary.
We are excited, as a company, to be utilizing fats and oils that we already pick up from our customers to take a step towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious business model. Making and utilizing the biodiesel for our own trucks and diesel fueled equipment is just another way we are doing our part to help curve our environmental impact!