Biodiesel is manufactured by chemically reacting vegetable oils, recycled cooking grease, or animal fats with alcohol. Today’s biodiesel is primarily made from domestically produced soybean oil, which has extremely low sulfur content.
When biodiesel is blended with petroleum diesel, it produces a fuel that is compatible with diesel engines, which can be used by fleets to offset their use of imported petroleum and reduce vehicle emissions of harmful air pollutants. Blends like B2 (2% biodiesel and 98% diesel) and B5 (5% biodiesel and 95% diesel) are becoming increasingly common as vehicle owners become more aware of the many benefits. Biodiesel blends of 20% biodiesel or more are also widely available.
As long as the biodiesel used for blending meets ASTM D6751 standards, low-level biodiesel blends such as B2 and B5 can be used safely in any compression-ignition engine that is designed to be operated on diesel fuel. This may include diesel-powered cars, trucks, tractors, boats, and electrical generators.
Explore Biodiesel Stations in the Tulsa Area
Biodiesel Links
- U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuel Data Center provides information about biodiesel benefits and considerations, vehicles, laws and incentives, and more.
- FuelEconomy.gov offers information including biodiesel vehicle availability and links related to biodiesel.
- National Biodiesel Board is the national trade association representing biodiesel.
Renewable Diesel
Renewable diesel is a drop-in alternative to petroleum diesel that is produced using biomass waste or residue, including vegetable oil, animal fat, waste cooking oil, and algal oil. Renewable diesel is chemically identical to conventional diesel fuel and can be put directly into an engine, unlike biodiesel which is blended with petroleum diesel.
Renewable diesel offers benefits over conventional diesel and biodiesel, including lower carbon emissions and reduced maintenance costs. According to the EPA, renewable diesel produced from distillers sorghum oil is 63% less carbon intensive than petroleum diesel.
Renewable diesel is not widely utilized in Oklahoma due to supply constraints. Nearly all renewable diesel consumed in the U.S. is used by fleets in California, due to the more favorable market conditions created by the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. California’s demand for roughly 90% of all U.S. renewable diesel production is fulfilled by just a handful of producing states. Louisiana is the nation’s top producer of renewable diesel, delivering over 50% of U.S. renewable diesel production in recent years. In 2022, Oklahoma was the fifth largest producer of renewable diesel.
Learn more about renewable diesel from the Alternative Fuels Data Center.