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FAME/Biodiesel

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INTRO

Biodiesel can be made from a variety of renewable sources, such as vegetable oils (soybeans or other crops), recycled cooking grease, or animal fats. These feedstocks are used to manufacture a mixture of chemicals called fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel).

The European Union is the world leader in the production and consumption of biodiesel. The primary feedstock is rapeseed. A total of 1.9 million metric tonnes (about 2.2 billion liters) of biodiesel was produced in the European Union in 2004. The top three producers were Germany (1.04 million tonnes), France (0.35 million tonnes), and Italy (0.32 million tonnes), accounting for 88 percent of the total production (EBB 2005). The production capacity increased by a factor of four to a total of 2 million tonnes a year between 1996 and 2002.

Production of Biofuels

Biodiesel production uses around 1.4 million hectares of arable land in the European Union. The most important biodiesel producer is Germany (with about 40 percent of the production). There are approximately 40 plants in the EU, however the number of plants and the crushing capacity is growing quite fast. The plants are mainly located in Germany, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, France and Sweden.

Vegetable oils used for producing Biodiesel

Vegetable oils suitable for producing biodiesel include the commodity oils: palm, soybean, corn, canola, sunflower and rapeseed. Some oils, such as olive and peanut oils, can be used for biodiesel, but their prices are generally too high. Coconut oil can be used for biodiesel, but the fatty acid composition is such that the pour point and cloud point properties are very poor. Cottonseed oil can be used also, but it is a primary feedstock for the margarine industry. Mustard oil from some very high yield varieties is under consideration by DOE.
Palm oil is the largest volume triglyceride resource in the world. As the name indicates, palm oil is a seed oil derived from the oil palm tree. Palm kernel oil is derived from the seed kernel, while palm oil is recovered from the seed pulp. Palm oil is a material of interest for biodiesel production. Palm oil is characterized by high (32-40%) palmitic acid and high (38-52%) oleic acid contents. The oil is semi-solid at room temperatures. The ester product has to be winterized to meet pour point and cloud point standards in temperate regions.

Soybean oil is recovered as a co-product from the production of soybean meal, a high protein food and feed material. This temperate seed oil has received the greatest attention as a source for biodiesel in the US. The fatty acid profile of soybean oil yields and ester product that requires minimal winterization. There is an extensive infrastructure in the US for the recovery and refining of soybean oils.

There are two types of soybean oil available. The majority of the soybean oil is extracted oil, which means that the oil was recovered from the meal using a solvent extraction process. There are a number of smaller facilities that specialize in expeller pressed oils and meals. Both types of oil can be used to make biodiesel.

Rapeseed oil is the primary feedstock used in Europe for the production of biodiesel. The European variety of rape is a low erucic acid, edible oil. Industrial rapeseed is high in erutic acid, which is used in a variety of high performance lubricants, corrosion inhibitors, and other products, as well as biodiesel. The primary source of industrial rapeseed oil in the US is the Northwest, where it has been tested extensively as a source for biodiesel. Canola oil is a low erucic acid oil derived from the rape family that can be used for biodiesel, but it commands a premium price as an edible oil.

Corn oil is recovered as a co-product from a corn wet milling operation. The properties of corn oil are very similar to those of soybean oil.
Other oils that can be used for biodiesel production include cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, and peanut oil.

How Biodiesel differs from diesel

●Higher Density
●Lower Heating Value
●Less Sulphur Content
●Continuous Distillation Curve
●Similar or Higher Cetane Number
●Somewhat Lower Oxidation Stability (lower Iodine figure)
●Higher Lubricity ≠Viscosity
●Gelling at Low Temperatures
●Will Harm Certain Plastics and Paint Types
●Nitrogen and Oxygen Content (stochiometric air demand is lower)

How has the EU become the leading global producer of biodiesel

Two factors have contributed to the European Union’s becoming the world leader in biodiesel production. The first factor is the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a supranational and domestically oriented farm policy for EU member countries, adopted in 1992 and implemented in 1993-1994. The 1992 reform addressed agricultural surpluses through supply control in the form of a mandatory, paid, “set-aside” program. In addition to price support, per-hectare payments are made to producers based on the average historical yield in tonnes per hectare. Producers of grains, oilseeds, and protein crops are eligible for direct payments if they remove a specified percentage of their area from production. Producers also receive a separate set-aside payment for the areas removed. The area of subsidized oilseed production is limited by the terms of the 1994 U.S.-EU Blair House Agreement, and oil seed producers (barring small producers) are required to set aside a minimum of 10 percent of their land to qualify for payments. Because non-food crops are permitted on set-aside land, this policy has encouraged oilseed production for biodiesel manufacture on set-aside land. The Blair House Agreement limits output from oilseeds planted on set-aside land for industrial purposes to 1 million tonnes of soybean meal equivalent a year.
The second factor is high fuel taxes, which have enabled indirect subsidies for biofuel production through partial or full exemption of the fuel excise tax. Taxes normally constitute 50 percent or more of the retail price of diesel in EU member states. In February 1994, the European Parliament adopted a 90 percent tax exemption for biodiesel. Germany, the largest biodiesel market, has excluded biofuels from taxation altogether (Schöpe and Britschkat 2002). In addition, some governments have implemented the European Community “Scrivener” Directive, which recommends a certain level of tax relief for investment in liquid biofuel plants. According to the European Commission, without this relief, the cost of biofuel production was two to three times that of petroleum fuels as of the early 2000s (Commission of the European Communities undated).
Standard: DIN EN 14214, DIN EN 590

Blending (bio-diesel)

Biodiesel can be blended with conventional diesel in any ratio.
Biodiesel can be blended with conventional diesel at either refinery, at intermediate storage depots or at refueling stations. In Austria and Germany, pure biodiesel is being used as a fuel for agricultural tractors and road vehicles. Another example is that in France 5% RME (rapeseed methyl ester) is blended in conventional diesel fuel.

The blend level can be done as B2 to B5, which is essentially used for giving lubricity to the blend with diesel fuel. B2 and B5 signify that the percentage of bio-diesel in the blend is 2% and 5% respectively.
B20 and B 100 are the remaining two most often used bio-diesel variants.
The major application segments for B100 include national parks, marine, underground mining, and off-road vehicles.

The B20 was originally chosen as an optimum between reductions in exhaust emissions and fuel cost. B20 provides about a 14% decrease in PM10 emissions, a 9% decrease in CO and a 7% decrease in hydrocarbons, compared with diesel. But it also entails a 2% increase in NOx.
A key factor in favor of selection of B20 as an alternative fuel is that there is no investment required for new infrastructure to switch to biodiesel.

The low-blend option, in the range of B2 to B5, is essentially the use of biodiesel as a diesel fuel additive to enhance lubricity. Low-level blends will also reduce emissions although the reductions will be proportional to the blend level so the reductions may be small. The B2 blend combines improved lubricity performance with a minimal increase in fuel price.

SUPPLY

Examples Biodiesel Usage in Fleets

●Bus fleets
-GVB Graz running > 100 buses on B100 (from used frying oil)
-Halifax bus fleet B20
-La Montañesa, the public transport operator of the Pamplona area running 50 buses on B100
●Other

-TPG Post Pakketservicewith 56 vehicles in Amsterdam on B100
-SpeditionEibingerusing B40 for 39 vehicles
-Herbert TemmelGmbH running the entire fleet on B20 (for up to 170 vehicles)
-Heinz SchauperlLogistics GmbH using B33
Number of buses running on bio-diesel:
Madrid- 209 buses B30
Graz 131 buses B100
Paris 72 buses B30

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

The key characteristics that promote the B100 market include the fact that it:

is non-toxic
is biodegradable
is renewable
has substantially reduced emissions, compared to diesel
has a non-objectionable odor
can be used and stored in equipment designed for use with biodiesel with little modification in warmer climates.

ADVANTAGES

1. Market- It provides a market for excess production of vegetable oils and animal fats.
2. Decrease dependency on petrol- It decreases the country’s dependence on imported petroleum. It can have a surprising impact on keeping fuel prices stable, although biodiesel can replace only minute portions of the petrol needs.
3. Biodiesel Reduces Emissions- When biodiesel displaces petroleum, it reduces global warming gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2). When plants like soybeans grow they take CO2 from the air to make the stems, roots, leaves, and seeds (soybeans). After the oil is extracted from the soybeans, it is converted into biodiesel and when burned produces CO2 and other emissions, which return to the atmosphere. This cycle does not add to the net CO2 concentration in the air because the next soybean crop will reuse the CO2 in order to grow.
When fossil fuels are burned, however, 100% of the CO2 released adds to the CO2 concentration levels in the air. Because fossil fuels are used to produce biodiesel, the recycling of CO2 with biodiesel is not 100%, but substituting biodiesel for petroleum diesel reduces life-cycle CO2 emissions by 78%. B20 reduces CO2 by 15.66%
4. Lubricating properties- Biodiesel has excellent lubricating properties. Even when added to regular diesel fuel in an amount equal to 1-2%, it can convert fuel with poor lubricating properties, such as modern ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, into an acceptable fuel.
5. Biodiesel and Human Health- Some PM and HC emissions from diesel fuel combustion are toxic or are suspected of causing cancer and other life threatening illnesses. Using B100 can eliminate as much as 90% of these “air toxics.” B20 reduces air toxics by 20% to 40%.

DISADVANTAGES:

1. Unfortunately, most emissions tests have shown a slight increase in oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions with biodiesel. This increase in NOx can be eliminated with a small adjustment to the engine’s injection timing, while still retaining a particulate decrease.
2. Biodiesel is currently too expensive to compete directly with diesel fuel, except in those cases where environmental or other advantages justify the added cost. In Europe, biodiesel has been greatly aided by the fact that it is not taxed like petroleum-based fuels.
3. Biodiesel contains 8% less energy per gallon than typical diesel:12.5% less energy per pound. The difference between these two measurements is caused by the fact that biodiesel is slightly more dense than diesel fuel, so there are slightly more pounds in a gallon of fuel.
4. Less favorable cold flow properties compared to conventional diesel. The cold flow properties of biodiesel and conventional petrodiesel are extremely important. Unlike gasoline, petrodiesel and biodiesel can both start to freeze or gel as the temperature gets colder. If the fuel begins to gel, it can clog filters or eventually it can become thick enough that it cannot even be pumped from the fuel tank to the engine.

COUNTRY SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Germany

Germany is the leading biodiesel producer and this can be explained by favorable legislation, the absence of quotas and a low price for vegetable oil associated with a high price for biodiesel fuel. The German biodiesel industry has worked closely with the automotive industry from the beginning. This was essential for persuading the auto industry to issue the same warranties for biodiesel use. Making DIN 51606 for plant-oil methyl ester mandatory in 1994 was an important step. As of June 2002, biodiesel was available at 1,500 filling stations in Germany. The average distance between the filling stations selling biodiesel was about 30 kilometers (km), although with substantial regional variation. About 40 percent of biodiesel is sold through filling stations and 60 percent to fleet operators (UFOP 2002).

In Germany the cost of biodiesel production from rapeseed is about €0.50 - 0.64 per liter (Schöpe and Britschkat 2002). In the other EU countries, the cost of biodiesel production is about €0.41-0.42 per liter in the Baltics, €0.65 in Hungary, €0.75 in Poland, and €0.70 in the Slovak Republic.

In 2004 biodiesel once again achieved by far the largest market share among biofuels in Germany.
In 2005 car manufacturers withdrew permission for new diesel cars to use biodiesel. The reasons are technical problems with new exhaust after treatment systems.
In addition to biodiesel which has been used as pure fuel since 1993, more rape methyl ester (RME/biodiesel) has also been added to fossil diesel fuel since the beginning of 2004. In 2005 some 600 000 t of biodiesel was used for adding to fossil diesel. Commercial vehicles refueled with about 680 000 t at companies’ private filling stations and about 276 000 t at public pumps.
Another 244 000 t in 2005 went into private cars from public filling stations. Sales of pure fuel, at 1 200 000 t, thus make up the largest market share at about 66%. The addition of biodiesel to fossil diesel fuel up to the 5% limit by volume which standards allow is expected to continue increasing significantly.

Germany’s new tax on biofuels

At a time when people are motivated and incited to use renewable energy sources and alternative fuels, the German Government started taxing them.
In Germany, diminishing production of biofuels has largely been caused by the ending of the full tax rebate for biofuels. The government has introduced a new €0.09 per liter tax on biofuels, claiming that it could not afford to continue losing the tax revenues from the product. Since the introduction of the tax, sales of biofuels have reportedly fallen by around 30% compared to the previous year, while production has fallen by a similar amount.
The German government said it could not afford the loss of revenues as drivers switched from regular diesel, which is heavily taxed, and Berlin started taxing biodiesel in August 2006. For a time, high fossil fuel prices cushioned the effect of the new tax, but falling fossil fuel prices mean drivers now have no incentive to buy biodiesel.
Many people argue that since vehicles consume more biodiesel than fossil fuels and need more engine overhauls, biodiesel should be cheaper.
Provided that the government raises the taxes on biodiesel further, in 2008, this will pose risk for the sustainability of the whole biofuels industry.
High prices for rapeseed oil, the main component of biodiesel in Germany, mean that biodiesel is being produced at a loss.
Germany had introduced compulsory blending of biodiesel with fossil fuels from January, but this is only expected to generate demand for 1.5 million tons annually, a figure which stood at 3.2 million tons in 2006, 2 million tons in 2005 and about 4 million at present.
The Association of the German Biofuel Industry called the plan "death in installments".

Extracts from Germany’s new tax on biofuels

Biofuels and bioheating fuels are energy products consisting entirely of biomass. Fatty acid methyl esters (Biodiesel) are wholly regarded as biofuels or bioheating fuels if they are extracted by esterification from vegetable or animal oils or fats which themselves constitute biomass and if its characteristics as a minimum satisfy the requirements of DIN EN 14214.
Bioethanol is regarded as a biofuel only if the substance in question is ethyl alcohol ex CN code 2207 10 00 with an alcohol content of a least 99% by volume and its characteristics as a minimum to satisfy the requirements of the draft of DIN EN 15376.
Vegetable oil is only regarded as biofuel if its characteristics as a minimum satisfy the requirements of prestandard DIN V 51605.

Tax relief is granted to the sum of the tax allotted to the proportion of biofuel or bioheating fuel. The relief amounts to the following:

1. For 1 000 l o fatty acid methyl esters (biodiesel):

up to 31 December 2007 - EUR 399.40,
from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008 - EUR 336.40,
from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009 - EUR 273.40,
from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 - EUR 210.40,
from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011 - EUR 147.40,
from 1 January 2012 - EUR 21.40

2. For 1000 l of vegetable oil:

up to 31 December 2007 - EUR 470.40,
from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008 - EUR 388.40,
from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009 - EUR 304.90,
from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 - EUR 220.90,
from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011 - EUR 147.40,
from 1 January 2012 - EUR 21.40

Austria

According to the Association of Biodiesel Manufacturers, there were eight biodiesel plants in Austria in 2005. The total capacity is approximately 92 000 tonnes a year. In 2004, approximately 55,000 tonnes of biodiesel were produced in Austria, according to information from the producers. From this quantity, however, roughly 90% was sold abroad. In 2005, some 70 000 tonnes of biodiesel were produced in Austria according to information from the producers/estimates. From this quantity, however, approximately 50 % was sold abroad. It is forecast to increase to some 200 000 tonnes in 2006.
Of the quantities sold in the domestic market, roughly half went to blending by those subject to the substitution requirement. Some 17 000 tonnes were used as pure biofuel in the Austrian transport sector.

Greece

During the first stage of biodiesel implementation in Greece, which started at the end of December 2005, biodiesel is blended with automotive diesel at refineries or petroleum product marketing companies in a proportion which currently fluctuates around 2% by volume, but which can rise to 5% by volume (as specified in the EN 590:2004 standard) — this is expected to happen towards the end of 2006 — and is marketed via the existing automotive diesel distribution network throughout the market. At a later stage — once any technical and institutional issues have been resolved — it is planned to distribute blends of biodiesel and automotive diesel exceeding 5% by volume, and also pure biodiesel.
The first domestic biodiesel production plant, operated by Hellenic Biopetroleum Industrial and Commercial S.A. at Kilkis, with an annual production capacity of 40 000 tonnes, started operating in December 2005. A second biodiesel production plant, operated by VERT OIL S.A. in Thessaloniki, with an annual production capacity of 25 000 tonnes, is expected to start production by July 2006; a third plant, operated by Pavlos N. Pettas Industrial and Commercial S.A., with an annual production capacity of 50 000 tonnes, is expected to start production at about the same time. The construction of a fourth plant, with an annual production capacity of 40 000 tonnes, has been started by Elinoil S.A. at Volos and of a fifth, with an annual production capacity of 250 000 tonnes, by Agroinvest S.A. at Fthiotida: both are expected to start production in the second half of 2006. Construction of the first plant was financed by the “Competitiveness” Operational Programme, which draws funds from the Third Community Support Framework, and construction of the third plant was financed via Development Act 3299/2004.

According to currently available data, a further eight biodiesel production units are at the initial stages of design and construction: four with a capacity of 5 000 tonnes, two with a capacity of 11 000 tonnes, one with a capacity of 22 000 tonnes and one with a capacity of 120 000 tonnes, with estimated production start dates ranging from end 2006 to the first half of 2007. Many other companies have expressed serious interest in the construction of further biodiesel production units with a small, medium or large annual production capacity, at various locations, with estimated production start dates not before the second half of 2007. The raw materials used by the above biodiesel production units comprise about 70% imported oils (rapeseed, soya-bean, etc.) and about 30% domestically produced oils (cotton-seed, sunflower, used cooking oil, etc.). Attempts to intensify domestic sunflower and oilseed rape crops are on the increase, with a view to domestically produced raw materials exceeding imports.

Biodiesel may also be imported, both from other EU Member States or accession countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey) and from non-member States, provided the price of the biodiesel is not increased excessively by the transport costs.
Automotive biodiesel distributed in Greece has to comply with the specifications of the ELOT EN 14214 standard.

Initially, biodiesel is intended only for blending with automotive diesel in a proportion not exceeding 5% by volume. Distribution of pure biodiesel on the retail market will follow, as will the blending of a higher proportion of biodiesel in automotive diesel intended for vehicle fleets (e.g. public transport vehicles). The distribution of biodiesel in Greece started in December 2005 when the first batches were distributed to refineries by Hellenic Biopetroleum S.A. The blend of 2% biodiesel by volume in automotive diesel has been distributed to all final consumers since February 2006 and continues to be distributed smoothly. This percentage is expected to be increased to 4% by volume by about the end of 2006, when the biodiesel production units currently under construction, start operating.
Potential Crops for Biodiesel Production in Greece
In Greece, four oleiferous crops (groundnut, sesame, soybean and sunflower)are currently cultivated for their seeds. Among them, groundnut, sesame and soybean are cultivated in a relatively small area, while sunflower is cultivated in relatively larger area in the northern part of the country. These crops are traditionally used
mainly for oil extraction and edible seed.
In the last few decades, the area cultivated with groundnut, sesame and soybean has significantly declined, while sunflower presented an upward trend since 1993. Meanwhile, rapeseed cultivation is still at demonstration scale.

France

Biodiesel and bio-ETBE have been partly exempted from taxation since 1992. These tax exemptions apply to certain maximum volumes of biofuels and are also adjusted each year. For 2004 the maximum volumes were 387,500 tonnes of biodiesel.

The United Kingdom

Biodiesel is currently available at over 100 filling stations in the UK; the majority is at or below 5% level blend in diesel.
Fuel duty differentials are currently the UK's primary means of support for biofuels. The duty incentive on biodiesel (20 pence per litre), has been in place since July 2002.

Hungary

There is a significant production potential, mainly fromrapeseed and sunflower, but other possibilities are also considered. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 23 000-77 000 tons of biodízel could be produced from sunflower, and 90 000-160 000 from rapeseed. Even if you only consider the lower limit, that amounts to 125 million liters.

Italy

In Italy, the Directive 2003/30/EC was implemented by the Decree 30/05/2005 n. 128, followed by the Law 11/03/2006 n. 81.
The Decree 128 lays down targets on biofuels and renewable fuels consumption, expressed in percentage as to the overall diesel oil and petrol present on the national market:

1% by 31/12/2005;
2,5% by 31/12/2010.

According to Confagricoltura (the farming companies trade association), 200.000 tons of biodiesel were produced in Italy in 2005, of which 13.000 by national raw materials and the rest imported from foreign countries.

There is one biodiesel refuelling station in operation in Tortona (Piedmont Region).

Poland

There is no clear situation for biofuels production in Poland. Polish experts in the field have different views on the status of biofuels, their cost-effectiveness and even its effect to the environment protection.
Several proposals of the incentives for biofuel producers and users of alternative fuel propulsion vehicles are currently in the process of negotiations with Ministry of Finance and representatives of Polish biofuels lobby.
One of the suggested solution is a subsidy of 350 PLN (45 euro)/1ha for crops harvested for biofuel production. It may concern potatoes harvest for bioethanol production or rape crops harvest aimed at production of esters for biodiesel.
Another proposal aims at tax preferences for public transport fleets and taxi vehicles using alternative fuels.
Free parking areas in city centres might also be one of the new support programme for using biofuels.
On 1st January 2007 Polish government implemented regulation increasing level of excise duty tax on biofuels and fuel blends with bio-components to the level required in the European Union (EU).

Portugal

GALP-Energia is the main fuel supplier in Portugal (95% of total) and is currently distributing diesel with up to 5% of biodiesel mixed in (in 2006, something like 3% were accomplished). Thus, there are some small-scale private companies producing biodiesel and supplying it among captive fleet and/or private users. The production of biodiesel from used cooking oils is becoming popular in Portugal (OEIRAS and SINTRA are the best experiences so far) - many interesting citizens and companies have emerged in the last year. Biodiesel is also a subject worked in some primary and high-schools in the country. We are also aware of citizens using cooking oil straight from the supermarket to the car. The Governement also announced a goal of 10% Biofuels in the total selling for 2010.

Romania

The legislation in force and the incentives currently considered for promoting bio fuels in transport system of Romania are detailed within page Info Packages/General/Incentives and Laws of SUGRE project website.
Concerning biodiesel use, there are some small private producers of biodiesel on the internal market (using rapeseed, sunflower and less soybean or corn as raw material), in different areas of the country where they are testing bio diesel on agricultural vehicles and cars (taxi), using until 80% blending (B80).
The producer of Baia Mare city, SC AUTOELITE SRL, is declaring that with the price of 2,7ron/l (about 0.82euro/l) for B70, comparing with the price of 3,1ron/l (0.94euro/l) and a consumption of 7l/100kms, the 20 taxi of their own fleet are annually saving about 10,000 euro.
The first important biodiesel plant in Romania is becoming operational to the end of 2007, having an installed capacity of about 50,000tonnes/year. Estimations are showing that the internal production of biodiesel would be of about 400,000 tonnes annualy, starting with 2009, which should cover the task of 10% biodiesel of the diesel consumption estimated for that year, according to the Romanian resort ministry commitment by law for 2010.
As for the Romanian Public Transport sector, the registered results of a study deploying in Constanta city, during 2005 to 2008, funded from national resources, are showing in a first stage (2006) that the three tested buses, with a high wear rate and endowed with non euro and euro 1 engines, are not offering a considerable reduction of the current CO or Nox levels emissions. In 2007 another buses, with an acceptable wear rate and endowed with Euro 2 and 3 engines, are under demonstrations.
Public Transport operators are really interested to introduce biodiesel in their current bus fleet, going even beyond B30 or B40, however not before knowing the terms (mainly technical) of the vehicles providers in order to keep valid their contractual guarantee offered when purchasing these buses.

Spain

The present productive capacity installed in Spain in biodiesel plants was 322.000 t/year in 2005. However, total production during this year was about 150.000 t/year equivalent to 135.000 tep, because some of the production plants started to operate at the end of that year. Specifically, there exist 10 biodiesel plants in Spain, 8 of them were running during 2005, and 2 started to run at the end of that year.
The main feedstocks for producing biodiesel in Spain are used oils, rape and sunflower.
Nowadays, there are 128 refuelling stations in Spain which offer biodiesel.
In the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid there are 209 bio-diesel run vehicles.

Slovenia

Even though biodiesel is the most common and well known alternative fuel in Slovenia its use is still very poor. Some progress was made in the production of this fuel, but mostly the product is exported to Austria and Germany. In 2005 just 6000 tons of biodiesel was produced, in 2006 the production increased to 15.000 tons. In 2007 production declined to 7.300 tons since production was stopped by two out of three main producers. It is expected, that with at least two larger production facilities planned till year 2010, overall production capacity would be more than 100.000 tons of biodiesel per year. Production would be based mainly on imported vegetable and waste vegetable oils and animal fats and only minor share from homegrown rapeseed.

B100 is also used in 20 buses of Ljubljana public city bus operator as a part of CIVITAS II MOBILIS project. Together with the Faculty for Mechanical Engineering from Maribor they are testing the use of B100 in buses.

Incentives, laws

Beside the biofuel regulation demanding the share of biofuels in transport fuels from the distributors and exempting biofuels from excise duties, there are no other regulations valid in Slovenia that would encourage the use of biodiesel. For instance if a company decides to convert its fleets to biodiesel, they face many problems:

higher costs of vehicle purchase, there are no exemptions from duties for purchasing these vehicles;
if they decide to convert their existing vehicles to biodiesel they risk loosing the warranty for the vehicles;
they would have to organise a refuelling point for their fleet themselves;
if they would use B25 or even a higher share of biodiesel in their fleets biodiesel would be more expensive, since the cost of the fuel would not be reduced by the excise duty exemption;
they would face higher costs of vehicle service.

Beside good image of the company economically for managers and fleet owners there are no advantages in using biodiesel in their fleets.

Refuelling points

There only few refuelling points for B100. Only one, located in Slovenian capital, is for individual car owners. Another, in smaller town, is only for refuelling heavy duty trucks, payment is contract based. Ljubljana city bus operator has its own refuelling point for B100 at their bus parking garage.
According to State Directive from 2007, distributors are obliged to establish selling of pure biodiesel on their refueling stations located on highways, motorways and in urban municipality areas. Investments in additional infrastructure needed are far from being economically viable.

The biggest transport fuel provider in Slovenia started mixing biodiesel in its diesel fuel in 2004. Because of the micro-organisms in the fuel a series of lawsuits followed and biodiesel was pulled out of the market. They continued with mixing in 2005 with more attention to the storage of the fuel and now they are distributing the mixture randomly to different filling stations in Slovenia. Selling of up to 5% biodiesel blends was gradually implemented by all ten Slovenian fuel providers. In 2006 around 4.650 tons of biodiesel in biodiesel blends was sold, in 2007 already 14.750 tons. Biodiesel sold was partly from local production and partly imported. If fuel provider does not sell enough biofuels according to their obligatory annual share, is missing quota added in the plan for the next year.

Supply of vehicles

There is possible to order a bus running on biodiesel from two major vehicle dealers in Slovenia. Other specialised vehicles are not available. Of course if a company with a large fleet would decide to convert its vehicles to biodiesel, dealers would offer also the vehicles which are available in other EU countries.

As already mentioned there is a problem of the loss of warranties in case of motor adaptations.

Technology

Only one official research on the use of biodiesel in vehicles was done in Slovenia so far and it has not ended yet. It is a part of the already mentioned CIVITAS II MOBILIS project. Ljubljana public city bus operator used 2 buses first running on B20, afterwards they switched to 20 buses running on B100. These are old buses, their motors fall in the category of Euro 0 standard. Some alterations were made on the buses: cleaning of the fuel storage and supply system, exchange of oil filter, exchange of rubber parts in the fuel supply system and adaptation of the fuel injection angle according to the calculations made by the Faculty for Mechanical Engineering from Maribor. The engine power of the buses running on B100 decreased for 6%, the engine lever for about 4%, the average fuel consumption increased for 10%.

Environmental benefits

Again we can only mention the data gathered in the CIVITAS project. The greatest advantage of B100 buses is in 50% reduction of PM emissions.

Economic aspects

Yearly costs (2006) of one bus running on diesel in Ljubljana (60.000 km covered) are around 26.000 €, yearly costs of one bus running on B100 are according to the CIVITAS study about 3.000 € higher due to higher costs of the fuel and of the halved interval of regular mechanical service of such a bus.

If a distributor is mixing less then 5% of biodiesel in the motor fuel no special declaration is needed for the informing of the costumer. The price of the fuel is the same at any filling station of this provider, that means the 33,7 % excise duty on diesel fuel is charged to the costumer, but in the case of mixing of biodiesel into the diesel up to 5 % of this excise duty falls into the pocket of the distributor and not the state budget.

FAME/Biodiesel

INTRO

COUNTRY SPECIFIC INFORMATION

Further reading