Leo Tristan Setiarso
Renewable energy is all the hype right now. By this point, most of the general communities understand that fossil fuels and petroleum is not a sustainable way of fueling our everyday technologies. Even though fossil fuel is fueling 79% of our energy needs, most of us recognize that fossil fuel is not the fuel of our future. Hence, we have set out and find new ways to fuel our vehicles without negatively affecting our environment. Over the years, we have developed and increased our dependency on alternative and nuclear energy standing at a measly 13.3%. This is because the integration of alternative energy into our energy consumption is a relatively new trend that has only gotten popular recently. Though the technology behind them aren’t new, the actual usage and integration is. This is because back then, energy production technology was more expensive and less efficient and hence did not make any financier backer bat an eye. Yet as the scientific communities agree on the changing of the climate and how our dependency of fossil fuels exacerbates it, many press their respective governments to look for alternative means of producing energy. This, in turn, gave financiers incentives to invest into researching this further which would eventually lower the costs down. This lowering of costs is one of the main reasons why more countries are integrating with alternative means of production.
When in the discussion of sustainable energy, the usual suspects - solar, wind, hydro - are always mentioned as the frontiers of sustainable energy. That being said, there is also progress in the field of fuels itself. For better or worse, we still have a huge dependency on fuel and that dependency will not go very soon. The question right now is how to mitigate the damages done from burning said fuel. Some innovations include the process of burning the fuel itself. Some make modifications to the vehicles and some don't even use fuel and try to integrate hydrogen gas as fuel. Most commonly is to tweak the composition of the fuels itself, which are hydrocarbons, to meet green standards. One alternative method seems to not only mitigate the damage but also make the ways of producing said fuel sustainable. This fuel is known to be biodiesel
As the name suggests, biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with an alcohol, producing a methyl, ethyl or propyl ester. The process to convert these waste into biodiesel is called transesterification. This is a chemical reaction in which a triglyceride reacts with an alcohol to form esters and glycerol. This particular reaction usually uses catalysts to ensure the process. Though there are several ways of producing biodiesel, the most common way is using base catalyzed transesterification as it is considered the most economical process which requires only low temperatures and pressure and produces a 98% conversion yield.
There are several benefits of using biodiesels both for the environment and for the vehicles itself. Environmentally, they have the main benefit of being carbon neutral. This means that the fuel produces no net output of carbon in the form of CO2. This happens because the oil crop absorbs the same amount of CO2 as is released when combusted. Biodiesel is also rapidly biodegradable and completely non-toxic meaning spillages represent far less of a risk than normal fuel spills. It is also safer in the event of a crash because it has a higher flash point than fossil fuel. Flash point refers to the lowest temperature at which the fuel would give off vapor to form ignitable mixture in the air leading to a fire. There are also benefits to the engine when running biodiesel. This is all because of the transesterification of the oil. These benefits include lowered viscosity, lower boiling point, and lower pour point.
Though it might seem that biodiesel is a practical solution to the dirty diesel and fossil fuel, there are several factors that make it not as viable as one previously thought and if used recklessly, can even exacerbate global warming even further depending on what waste materials are used. The first factor is the unaccounted variables during the transesterification process. Though it was initially believed that the production is carbon neutral, CO2 is released during the production of fertilizer which is required to fertilize the fields. Moreover, the production of fertilizer itself is a source of pollution, along with the esterification process, refining, and transporting which requires an energy input which eventually leads to release of greenhouse gases.
This, however, is not the biggest problem presented in the push for biodiesel usage. The biggest problem is the fact that much of the source for the biofuels is through palm oil production and this is one of the key drivers of environmental destruction in Southeast Asia. Using palm oil as its source is irresponsible and we have already established as a society that usage of these palm oils are detrimental to our environment. It has been responsible for rainforest destructions, and drainage. Half of all the palm oil imported into Europe ends up in fuel tanks and only now do they realize the dangers that it poses. If the world had followed in Europe’s footsteps and integrated biodiesel, it would deforest 4,300,000 hectares of land. That is equal to the rainforests of Borneo, Sumatra, and Malaysia.
This problem is only beginning as this time it is not Europe falling for biodiesel, it is Indonesia. The B30 program is a government project that mandates the mixing of 30% Biodiesel with 70% of every diesel fuel. This means that 70% of all diesel fuels being sold, there is at least a 30% composition of biofuel. Obviously, this was an attempt by the government to reduce the emissions produced from vehicles and statistics show that it does. From 2019 in its previous B20 program, it is projected to decrease 14.25 million tonnes C02 compared to 9.91 million tonnes CO2. The issue here is that this doesn’t account for the emissions caused by the deforestations of millions of hectares of palm oil. Presumably, this would mean more and more land will be exploited considering it is projected that barrel volume usage would increase by 44% to over 165 thousand barrels a day. On one hand, it does bring in more to the economy as more people are employed. Compared to 828.488 people employed on farms, 2020 is projected to have 1.2 million personnels working the palm oil fields. Sadly, it seems that the government has yet to account the problems and dangers of further exploiting the already fragile ecosystems that reside in those palm oil trees. Namely, Orangutan, pygmy elephant, and Sumatran rhino. This matter is further exacerbated by the fact that Indonesia are the ones providing these palm oil fields meaning they wouldn’t have a financial incentive to reconsider the environmental implications that this might bring. Yet, in the opinion of this writer, the scariest part of this isn’t the further reckless exploitation of our ecosystems, it is the fact that it is being sold as biodiesel. The general understanding of people is that biodiesel is good because it uses biological wastes hence its sustainable. Though this might be true, we might have to think again once we know those biological wastes include the diverse ecosystems in Indonesia.
Sources
"FAQ : Program Mandatori Biodiesel 30% (B30) - Kementerian ESDM Republik Indonesia". Ebtke.Esdm.Go.Id, 2019, http://ebtke.esdm.go.id/post/2019/12/19/2434/faq.program.mandatori.biodiesel.30.b30.
"What Is Biodiesel". Esru.Strath.Ac.Uk, http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/02-03/biofuels/what_biodiesel.htm.
"Why Is Palm Oil Biodiesel Bad? | Transport & Environment". Transportenvironment.Org, 2020, https://www.transportenvironment.org/what-we-do/biofuels/why-palm-oil-biodiesel-bad.
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