International Biodiesel Manufacture and Consumption

Even if you choose to adopt biodiesel for your vehicle, biodiesel pumps are impossible to encounter. Its price is also sky high. The global supply of biodiesel is short, on account of no one is mass producing it.

This is a very familiar misconception. Biodiesel is being bulk produced all over the world. In Europe, for example, biodiesel is very popular. For the preceding five years, biodiesel production has been snowballing by about 10% every year. In 2007, the European Union produced a total of 5 713 000 tonnes of biodiesel, a 16.5% increase over 2006.

Germany is by far the biggest producer of biodiesel in Europe. After all, Germany has been producing biodiesel since 1999. In 2007, Germany generated more than 50% of Europe’s biodiesel.

Even all this is not enough to comfort environmentally-conscious European drivers. To meet the voracious consumer demand, Neste Oil has invested $ 814 million to build a biodiesel plant in Singapore. The plant is expected to produce 800 000 tonnes of biodiesel annually.

Until that plant is built, the European Union must continue to import biodiesel from the United States. In 2008, the United States produced 2 555 000 tonnes of biodiesel. Compare this to the 1.6 million tonnes produced in 2007: a 60% increase.

The Japanese are growing into the biodiesel market as well. The nation is well-known for its consumption of disposable chopsticks: almost 90 000 tonnes of wood is discarded ereally year. Researchers are looking into generating biodiesel from this would-be waste.

In addition to producing biodiesel within its borders, Japan is also actively investing in other countries. In 2007, Japan invested $ 800 million for a biodiesel plant in Cambodia. The plant should produce an additional 40 000 tonnes of biodiesel ereally year. The same year, Japan also invested $ 50 million for a biodiesel centre in the Phillipines.

Even developing countries are jumping on the biodiesel bandwagon. China, for example, is a booming economy. It needs all the energy it can get. In 2005, China produced 1 million tonnes of biodiesel. The figure is comparatively low, as China was centering on ethanol manufacturing. However, China plans to expand its biodiesel production to 2 million tonnes by 2010.

The world is beginning to see the benefits of biodiesel. The fuel releases 75% less carbon dioxide than gasoline, and no sulphur compounds whatsoever. It contains few contaminants, burning cleanly. But best of all, biodiesel is renewable. Corporations and citizens alike are becoming more environmentally aware.

With all this manufacturing, where is the consumption? Europe is a bulkive consumer of biodiesel. Although it produced 5.7 million tonnes of biodiesel in 2007, it also imported 1 million tonnes from the United States. Many biodiesel pumps can be found in Europe, in particular in Germany.

North America is also catching on. If you live in a big city, chances are that a biodiesel station is not far away from your home. Major gas stations, such as Shell, are also introducing biodiesel pumps at their gas stations. Although biodiesel stations are still rare when compared to gasoline or diesel stations, we are making progress.

To find the biodiesel station closest to your home, check out Mapquest or Google Maps. Both applications allow you to search for alternative fuel stations.