Note: This review was originally published in the the
April, 2005 issue of the Energy Self Sufficiency Newsletter.
If you're like the crowds of Americans who've been wondering exactly what biodiesel is and exactly how much of its hype is mere greenwashing and how much is deserved praise, Greg Pahl's newest book, Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy (Chelsea Green, 2004), is a timely gift written just for you. If you haven't been wondering at all, it's even more important that you pick up a copy.
Biodiesel exists in a haze of public misconceptions. Is it vegetable oil? (Not exactly.) Don't I have to "convert" my vehicle to run on it? (No, you don't.) Isn't it prohibitively expensive? (It wouldn't be, if we gave it half the attention we give natural gas, nuclear power and petroleum. But we digress.)
When a new and poorly publicized technology appears, especially one that displaces a familiar technology while using much familiar infrastructure, the time is fertile for rumors. "I heard biodiesel takes twice as much energy to produce as it generates in burning!" "I heard biodiesel could only replace 1/367th of our global energy needs!"
A scientifically illiterate media has only made everything murkier, with evasive or outright false statements in almost every popular article. It has fallen to government and university studies to describe biodiesel's promise honestly. Unfortunately, most Americans will never read National Renewable Energy Laboratory papers, or the greasegeek handbooks written by enthusiasts for hardcore biodiesel fans.
Pahl's book appears on this smoggy scene like a welcome sea breeze in an air quality nonattainment zone. Borne aloft by research and good storytelling, the book blows away misconceptions and leaves only clarity in its wake.
To us, the measure of a good nonfiction book is its organization. The best can either be read straight through and enjoyed as good stories, or can sit on a shelf and provide quick, authoritative reference with a glance through the glossary (check), index (check), and table of contents (check). Pahl's book meets both tests.
Existing biodiesel fanatics will enjoy the intriguing tales of mechanical visionary Rudolf Diesel's life and the evolution of his engine. The chapter "A Brief History" answers several nagging questions about what happened when in the development of biodiesel. And the chapters about the biodiesel industry and economy (one focused on the U.S., one focused on the rest of the world) are invaluable references - at least this year.
Readers will be intrigued to learn how wildly different the success of biodiesel has been in countries with basically similar economies. (For instance, in Germany, B100 is such a common passenger vehicle fuel that special engine sensors have been developed to detect it and adjust engine timing automatically; in Japan, small-scale cooking oil cooperatives are blossoming across the rural landscape; while in the US, some Midwestern states have declared biodiesel mandates for their diesel fuel.)
The major pitfall of a book like this is that two-thirds of the information is destined to be obsolete in a few months. That's simply because biodiesel is such a fast-growing and dynamic industry. In fact, some of the information is already outdated. For instance, Pahl mentions the America Biofuel's plant in Bakersfield as the largest continuous-flow plant in the country. While American Biofuels did use this plant for batch fuel production, it is unclear whether any biodiesel was produced via the continuous-flow method once the plant was up and running.
Pahl's book, though, may be worth buying for that unchanging one-third: an articulate discussion of the fuel's chemistry, history, sources, and applications.
There are other questionable statements. Pahl makes the claim that engine manufactures support a B20 biodiesel blend, but the Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) only supports a B5 blend. (Both Pahl and the EMA state that individual engine manufactures should be contacted regarding their support of higher blends.) He also states that the biodiesel specification from the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM D 6751) covers blends up to B20. While D 6751 is for "biodiesel as a blendstock," it does not specify any specific blend at all.
Pahl also calls the creation of the ASTM biodiesel specification to one of the most important landmarks in the U.S. history of biodiesel. While standards are important, the fact that D 6751 is only for biodiesel to be used as a blendstock has caused problems with the fuel's acceptance and use - especially in California where B100 and any blends not meeting the petroleum diesel specification (ASTM D975) now have to be sold as a developmental fuel.
To his credit, Pahl does mention the importance of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct). The growth of the amount of biodiesel used in this country after this piece of legislation was amended to permit the use of the fuel, in 1998, was phenomenal. While only 500,000 gallons were used in 1999, over 25,000,000 gallons of the so-called "fastest-growing alternative fuel" were used in 2003. Unfortunately, Pahl doesn't mention the very real possibility that this law, and the captive fleet market it created, has helped keep the price of biodiesel higher than it should be.
While Pahl does mention in passing some of the difficulties biodiesel faces in California, the book would have benefited greatly from an in-depth discussion of the state's unique biodiesel situation. It's understandable that a man charged with describing the global phenomenon of biodiesel would overlook our sunny corner, but as we all know, California tends to set trends for the rest of the US. And in no field is that axiom more reliable than in energy policy.
California, which is the second-largest consumer of petroleum diesel by state in the country (Texas is first), may have the most biodiesel-savvy populace of all 50 states. More Iowans may know what it is, but more Californians use it religiously in their private vehicles. (Biodiesel is mostly a fleet fuel in the U.S.) Furthermore, because of our mild climate, terrible air quality, and a general anti-petroleum and environmental attitude, Californians are most likely to want to burn B100 - not the lower blends diluted with petrodiesel popular elsewhere.
This presents a number of challenges and opportunities for California's biodiesel economy. California is a perfect laboratory in which to ask the questions: How much biodiesel use can one state sustain? How long can a region afford to import all its virgin oil ("feedstock") or processed fuel? When is it desirable to commit to growing that feedstock in local fields? Can a state's limited water resources support the development of oil crops? How will the introduction of new (oil) crops effect the rest of the state's ecosystem? Finally, what about waste or recycled oil? Could a region-wide waste oil collection project be viable, and if so, how much of a region's fuel need could it meet?
We may never know, because at present, the main obstacle to wider biodiesel use in California is not feedstock availability but regulatory hesitation. CARB - the California Air Resources Board, which has fairly comprehensive control over what gets burned in the state - is reluctant to include large-scale biodiesel use in its recommendations for cleaner air. That's because pure biodiesel, despite sparkling-clean emissions numbers overall, usually releases slightly more nitrous oxides than petrodiesel. Nitrous oxides (NOx) are a main component of smog.
Some studies show that biodiesel can release less NOx than petrodiesel if burned right or made right; some argue that NOx doesn't form smog except in the presence of other nasties biodiesel doesn't create, and some simply argue the tradeoff is worth it. It's a fascinating debate, and since at least four other states directly track California's recommendations (with Oregon and Washington State possibly becoming the sixth and seventh CARB states in the near future), the way it is resolved will have far-reaching consequences for biodiesel use all across America. Unfortunately, you won't read about it in Pahl's book.
Luckily, to compensate for those omissions, the book does touch upon the essential struggles in the U.S. biodiesel industry today: agriculture-based feedstock (soy) vs. recycled oil and animal fats, large-scale producers vs. small-scale and local production, and the collective interests represented by the National Biodiesel Board (N.B.B.) vs. the concerns of the homebrewers, consumers and other grassroot interests. Pahl also makes clear throughout the book that biodiesel alone cannot completely solve our dependence on petroleum. Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy concludes with a well-constructed example of that most essential feature of all reference books today: the list of Organizations and Online Resources.
Wolfgang Rougle is the biodiesel coordinator at the UC Davis Student Experimental Farm. Michael "Spike" Lewis is a Los Angeles-based alternative-fuel advocate.