biodiesel

Bio-diesel being a very vast and complex organic product has different definitions. This product is used as a substitute for petroleum fuels. It is also considered to be a better option than the petroleum fuels due to the fact that it is environmental friendly.
According to Britannica encyclopedia, “Bio-diesel refers to a vegetable oil or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl (methyl, ethyl or propyl) esters”. It is also can be said to be a renewable clean-burning organic product that is produced from plant oil or animal fat. Nation Bio-diesel Board (NBB) in USA gave a technical definition to bio-diesel “as a mono-alkyl ester. Diesel in general is any liquid fuel used in diesel engines, whose fuel ignition takes place, without spark, as a result of compression of the inlet air mixture and then injection of fuel.
Types of diesel include:
• Bio-diesel

• Petroleum diesel or petrol diesel.

BIOGAS

The whole world is facing the crises of depletion of fossil fuels as well as the problem of environmental degradation. The rapid depletion of fossil fuel reserves with increasing demand and uncertainty in their supply, as well as the rapid rise in petroleum prices, has stimulated the search for other alternatives to fossil fuels. In view of this, there is an urgent need to explore new alternatives, which are likely to reduce our dependency on oil imports as well as can help in protecting the environment for sustainable development. Many alternative fuels are being recently explored as potential alternatives for the present high-pollutant diesel fuel derived from diminishing commercial resources.

However, the cost of biodiesel can be reduced by using low cost feed stock such as animal fat and used cooking oil. It is estimated that the cost of biodiesel is approximately 1.5 times higher than that of diesel fuel due to the use of food grade oil for biodiesel production. The term “waste vegetable oil” (WVO) refers to vegetable oil which has been used in food production and which is no longer viable for its intended use. Waste vegetable oil arises from many different sources, including domestic, commercial and industrial. Waste vegetable oil is a potentially problematic waste stream which requires to be properly managed. The disposal of waste vegetable oil can be problematic when disposed, incorrectly, down kitchen sinks, where it can quickly cause blockages of sewer pipes when the oil solidifies . Properties of degraded used frying oil after it gets into sewage system are conductive to corrosion of metal and concrete elements. It also affects installations in waste water treatment plants. Thus, it adds to the cost of treating effluent or pollutes waterways. The use of used cooking oil as feedstock reduces biodiesel production cost by about 60– 70% because the feedstock cost constitutes approximately 70–95% of the overall biodiesel production cost. It is reported that the prices of biodiesel will be reduced approximately to the half with the use of low cost feedstock . Moreover used cooking oils can be a workable feedstock for biodiesel production as they are easily available. The use of non-edible plant oils when compared with edible oils is very significant because of the tremendous demand for edible oils as food, and they are far too expensive to be used as fuel at present. The land use for growing oil seeds as feedstocks for the biodiesel production competes with the use of land for food production.

Petroleum fuel is the one of the most common source of energy. Almost everybody is demanding for this source of energy, thereby making it expensive and in most case not readily available or scarce {fuel scarcity}. In 2015 – 2016, Nigeria was among the country to record fuel scarcity under the leadership president Mohammadu Buhari. Also not every country is blessed with this resource {crude oil} to produce petroleum. These entire problems which include scarcity, availability of resources etc. are what necessitate an alternative.

1.2 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The main objective of this study is to produce a source of energy that is going to act as supplement or alternative for petroleum products which is to be cheaper, renewable and available.

1.3 IMPORTANCE OF BIODIESEL
The importance of biodiesel cannot be underestimated, because it is an alternative for petroleum and can act as a substitute for petroleum. It is used for the following:
• Producing hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles.
• Cleaning up spilled oils.
• Generating electricity.
• Heating your home.
• Cooking.
• Illumination.
• Cleaning up tools and grease.
• Adding lubricity to diesel fuel.
• Removing paints and adhesives.
• Asphalt cleanup agent.
• Hand cleaner.
• Crop adjuvant
• Screen printing ink remover.
• Auto wax remover.
• Corrosion preventative.
• Metal working lubricant.

1.4 ADVANTAGES OF BIODIESEL OVER PETROLEUM DIESEL
• Produced from renewable source
• Can be used in existing engines
• Less greenhouse gas emission
• Grown, produced and distributed locally
• Cleaner biofuel refineries
• Biodegradable and non-toxic
• Better fuel economy
• Positive economic impact
• Reduces foreign oil dependence
• More health benefits
The result of this work will be useful to the following people:
• Youths/ Graduates
• Farmers
• government
• industries
• the public/citizens
• family
• mechanics
• Youths/ graduates—with the usage of biodiesel in the society, more employment opportunities is made available for the youths and graduates. Also, training could be given to those who are not experienced in the field.
• Farmers—unlike the petrol diesel, biodiesel are produced from oils gotten from seeds and animals. The farmer is then given an additional reason to produce more crops and rear more animals since oils gotten from them or their seeds are used to produce biodiesel.
• Government—the government tends to benefit from the revenue gotten from production and distribution of biodiesel {especially revenues from government institutions}.
• Industries—the industries in the country also stand to benefit from biodiesel in the sense that, it opens up a new line of business and a new means of making profit.
• The public/citizens—although, there are numerous petroleum industries in the country, still, the country suffers from fuel scarcity. With biodiesel supplementing petroleum products, there will be reduction or complete elimination of fuel scarcity. If fuel scarcity is eliminated, then there will be enough fuel for the public or citizens.
• Family—in a family, biodiesel can also be useful for domestic works like cooking, etc.
• Mechanics engineers —like fuel, biodiesel can also be used to clean hands after work, clean tools after work and to grease automobile parts.