Bio-diesel.  The concept of bio-diesel has been tossed around quite a bit over the last few years.  Despite the introduction of the word to the public consciousness, a substantial amount of confusion still clouds the facts about this alternative fuel.

One can trace the introduction of bio-diesel to the mid-1800s, when scientists began experimenting with the energy that could be produced from the lipid material found in plants (and the basis of vegetable oil.)  Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine, used peanut oil to power his first engine design on August 10^th, 1893.  The engine was originally designed to run on mineral oils.  Per the request of the French government who was interested in the utilization of the peanut, or earthnut, that was abundantly cultivated in its African colonies, Diesel introduced the peanut oil to the engine without making any modifications.  Upon additional study, Diesel supported the use of peanut and other vegetable oils for their efficient and clean energy creation.

Henry Ford adopted the use of bio-diesel for all his automobiles in the early 1900s.  However, as petroleum oil companies grew in popularity and provided lower prices by the mid 1940s, all automobiles, including Fords, adopted engines that were driven by petroleum-based gas and oil.

The interest in the efficiency of using bio-diesel was never forgotten, and is experiencing resurgence today.  LA City BioDiesel, for instance, has been providing bio-diesel to areas in Southern California extending from Palmdale to Long Beach since 2007.  In addition to home and individual usages, LA City BioDiesel supplies bio-diesel to the motion picture and television industry, amusement parks, construction companies, museums such as the Natural History Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, and major events including the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and the Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival, where the biodiesel powered generators, rides, lighting, and cooking equipment.

LA City Biodiesel both manufactures and distributes biodiesel.  They are fully documented and licensed, and are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), the California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.  LA City Biodiesel takes waste and virgin vegetable oil, collected from restaurants in Southern California, and converts this material through a chemical process with methanol or ethanol.  The blends they produced are B5 (5% biodiesel), B20 (20% biodiesel) and B99, and meet the standards of ASTM International (an organization that develops global market standards.)

On September 24^th, 2009, LA City Biodiesel was awarded the 2009 Southern California Environmental Excellence Development for Alternative Energy Award.  The award was presented by the South Bay Business Environment Coalition, a group comprised of representatives from private and public sectors in the South Bay area of Los Angeles who share common concerns about environmental issues.  The SEED Award honors local individuals, groups, and business that have exhibited excellence in helping to improve

environmental sustainability and a quality of life in the South Bay.

Biodiesel has the highest energy balance of any transportation fuel: meaning, the energy required to produce or transport biodiesel does not exceed the benefit of biodiesel.  In fact, studies done by the Department of Energy and the United States Department of Agriculture show that for every unit of energy it takes to make biodiesel, including planting, harvesting, fuel production and fuel transportation, 3.2 unites of energy are gained.   Biodiesel reduces the emissions of particulate matter by 47%, and carbon monoxide creation is reduced by 48%, leaving the air cleaner and less harmful to all life forms.

To learn more about LA City Biodiesel and to contact them with questions, please visit their website:

www.lacitybiodiesel.com