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Biodiesel Production Disadvantages

Biodiesel is considered to be an alternative fuel source that will be favorable for our environment. While biodiesel does not release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and is a renewable energy source, there are some disadvantages when it comes to the manufacturing process of biodiesel.

  1. Higher Cost of Production

    • The cost of producing biodiesel is much higher than petroleum diesel fuel. According to cpast.org, biodiesel is about 150 percent more expensive to produce. High production costs are the result of the amount of soybeans used in producing biodiesel. A grain of soybean contains only twenty percent oil, therefore large quantities of soybeans are required to produce a very small amount of biodiesel.

    Energy

    • While trying to make a more economical and renewable fuel source, we are using much more energy in the production of biodiesel fuel. The manufacturing process consumes gigantic quantities of energy to produce biodiesel fuel from the soybeans. Furthermore, additional resources are required for growing and harvesting the soybeans.

    Consistent Quality

    • Biodiesel production is a very challenging process because there are so many specifics and there is hardly any room for mistake. A small error in the process can lead to an entirely different biodiesel. Biodiesels have different blends to better suit different vehicles and even different temperatures.

      Since a small fluctuation in the composition can make a huge difference in the quality, it is difficult to provide the same, consistent quality every time. According to Greenfuels.org the biodiesel producers are trying to resolve this issue by meeting the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) guidelines and standards for biodiesel.

    Agricultural Land

    • The high demand of soybean crops in manufacturing biodiesel can lead to an increase in the prices of vegetables. To prevent biodiesel from raising the cost of crops, there will be two very different fields for the production of soybeans. If the need for biodiesel rises, farmers would not have enough agricultural land to expand upon and grow that many crops.

      The same farmers would not be able to grow crops for both public consumption for food and industry this would inevitably lead to a shortage of food crops and inflation.

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