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Mexico holds the fifth largest oil reserves on the planet, but lately has seen slippage in oil production. That is not good news for the United States, Mexico's closest neighbor, and also the largest importer of their oil surplus. Mexico is the second largest supplier of oil to the U.

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Have you noticed the huge increase in gas prices since the last congressional election? We are all being ripped off by the oil companies right now.

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What is Bio-diesel?

Well, Bio-diesel is the future. Because it is so clean burning and easy to use, bio-diesel is the fastest growing and most cost efficient fuel being created today.

Bio-diesel is a form of Bio-fuel made by ripping apart the fat molecule to release three free fatty acid esters, and a sugar called glycerol. Bio-diesel is produced from the fatty acid molecules found in numerous feedstock oils such as plant, animal, and recycled cooking oils. The fundamental chemical reaction process that produces bio-diesel is relatively simple and has the potential to be adopted worldwide.

Bio-diesel is described as mono-alkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, conforming to ASTM D6751 specifications for use in diesel engines. Bio-diesel is a processed fuel derived from biological sources that can be used in diesel vehicles with little or no modification. It is a renewable fuel that can be used instead of diesel fuel, that is made from petroleum.

Bio-diesel is most often blended with petroleum diesel in ratios of 2 percent (B2), 5 percent (B5), or 20 percent (B20). A naturally grown, alternative fuel source it is a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestically grown, renewable resources. Bio-diesel is simple to use, biodegradable, non-toxic, and basically free of sulfur compounds and aromatics.

Bio-diesel is the only alternative fuel for motor vehicles to have fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. And is one of the most rigorously tested alternative fuels on the market.

The CO2 released into the atmosphere when bio-diesel is burned is recycled by growing plants, which are later processed into fuel. Tests and demonstrations, have shown that bio-diesel is no different from petroleum diesel in terms of engine performance and wear.

Bio-diesel is being used across the U.S. in fleets of snowplows, garbage trucks, mail trucks, and military vehicles. In Hawaii all bio-diesel is made from used cooking oil collected from restaurants, making it a 100% recycled fuel, and keeping it out of landfills. Bio-diesel is also extensively used in Europe, especially Germany and France.

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energy Tags: Bio-diesel

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div>Lee Wilson asked:


There is a lot of talk going on about by diesel production. But I'm quite sure that most people have no idea what the process involves. Simply put biodiesel production takes a product such as vegetable oil, just normal everyday vegetable oil, and turns it into a combustible product. How this is done, requires a little more technical talk and understanding. So here we go. To produce biodiesel requires a process in which the lipid transesterification converts a base oil in two esters or biodiesel.

In the production of biodiesel these products may be used:

energyhq.com/faq/used-vegetable-oil-for-biodiesel-production" class="more" class="more-link">More on Used Vegetable Oil for Biodiesel Production?

Energy Tags: energy, solar+power" rel="tag">solar power

Biodiesel production, distribution, and use, as with many emerging alternative energies, has been aided in large part by recent government incentives making biodiesel fuel production and distribution more attractive. These tax incentives put money back in the pockets of biodiesel producers who, presumably, pass the benefits on to you, the consumer, with lower biodiesel prices.

Not just any biodiesel is eligible for tax incentives. The definition of biodiesel fuel, as its used for tax purposes, is 'monoalkyl esters of long chain fatty acids'. Biodiesel production companies seeking any of these credits must ensure that they are making biodiesel fuel that meets the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements for registration of fuels and fuel additives as described in the Clean Air Act, as well as requirements put forth by the American Society of Testing and Materials.

All companies, whether a biodiesel production company or not, that are selling or using biodiesel may qualify for the Biodiesel and Ethanol (VEETC) Tax Credit, on their income taxes. There are two such types of credit.

* the Straight Biodiesel Credit (considered a 'general business credit' by the IRS) - the biodiesel in question must not have been mixed with any petroleum-based diesel fuel, and the company itself must be the biodiesel production company making it;

* the Biodiesel Mixture Credit - the biodiesel in question must contain only biodiesel fuel and petroleum-based diesel, with absolutely no kerosene added, and the company itself must be the biodiesel production company making it.

Additionally, for either tax credit on biodiesel cost, one of the following criteria must also be met;

othe biodiesel production company actually uses the biodiesel itself as a fuel;

othe biodiesel production company sells the biodiesel retail which is then used in the fuel tank of the buyer.

The tax credits on Straight Biodiesel are equal to $1 per gallon of agri-biodiesel and $0.50 per gallon of waste grease biodiesel. The tax credits on Biodiesel Mixtures are $0.01 (a penny) per percentage point of agri-biodiesel and $0.005 (half-a-cent) per percentage point of waste grease biodiesel.

That is, unless the amount of credit approved to taxpaying biodiesel companies applying for the credit in a given year exceeds the annual cap of $1.5 million, in which case the Department of Revenue will prorate credits to biodiesel production companies accordingly.

These tax credits, however, are currently temporary, and set to expire in 2008 - an added incentive to get started now on that biodiesel production company of your own that youve been dreaming about. Theres literally no time to waste.

Another Federal Tax Credit, the Small Agri-Biodiesel Producer Credit (Section 1345: energy Policy Act of 2005), grants $0.10 per gallon on up to 15 million gallons to small agri-biodiesel production facilities producing less than 60 million gallons per year.

Incidentally, there are local and state tax credits all over the country available on biodiesel cost and costs on other alternative fuels. Visit: www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/laws/incen_laws.html to find out what your locality offers.

According to recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study, demand for biodiesel production is set to increase by at least 124 million gallons per year, however fears about the rapidly rising prices of crude oil suggest that facilities might be making biodiesel fuel in even larger amounts and at an even faster rate.

Mike Cubert

Biodisel is clean, renewable, cheap and popular. The best part is that its very easy to make it at home. Visit our biodiesel making section for how to information.