Brazil leads the biodiesel movement in the region

    The take-up and promotion of biodiesel in Brazil is due, to a great extent, to economic and strategic factors. The largest South American country does not have oil fields and depends on fuel imports. Under this situation, Brazil is urged to explore alternative sources of energy with the aim of developing petroleum substitutes. 

    Although it is unlikely that this bio-diesel fuel will become the fuel of the future, this renewable fuel seems to offer technical and ecological advantages.

    As regards the technical aspects, biodiesel fuel is obtained from a simple process based on the extraction of oil from sunflower, soybean or peanuts seeds. According to the studies carried out by the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA)  from Argentina, the performance of biodiesel fuel in tractors does not results in a substantial power loss. Actually, engine power of tractors running on biodiesel was found to be just a 3 or 4% lower than in tractors running on petroleum diesel. Besides, it has been found that engines running on diesel work better since biodiesel leaves fewer carbon deposits and produce less engine wear.

    The new fuel is 100% biodegradable and produces less polluting gases such as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Tests performed in the Brazilian city of Curitiba have demonstrated that public transport buses running on a blended B20 fuel (20% biodiesel, 80% standard diesel) produce up to a third less pollution than those running on standard diesel.

    In spite of these ecological advantages, biodiesel fuel is not fully approved of by all the ecologist and environmentalist groups in the region. This is due to the fact that biodiesel production is closely linked to soy crops. In both Argentina and Brazil, biodiesel fuel is primarily obtained from soybean. The soy crops that occupy great portions of land in Argentina and the south of Brazil are being hardly criticized from different angles.  The current agricultural model sparks heated debates as to its implications in terms of ecological diversity, sustainable use of natural resources and use of genetically modified seeds, among others.    


Sources:
http://www.inta.gov.ar/iir/info/documentos/energia/resbiodiesel.htm (The complete report on biodiesel performance in tractors released by INTA, Argentina, can be accessed to from this page)
http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content_print.asp?ContentID=3593