Pure biodiesel is actually an agricultural product. As it is not eaten, but rather used for fuel it can be a bit challenging to find biodiesel product information. If you are looking for information about suppliers or different types of biodiesel then your best bet is to search for information at the national biodiesel board.
The national biodiesel board makes recommendations to consume to make sure that you know what biodiesel is and that any biodiesel fuel that is purchased meets the ASTM specification for pure biodiesel (ASTM D 6751). This biodiesel product information is essential for those who are considering blending pure biodiesel with diesel fuel. The specification for biodiesel is designed to ensure that consumers will not experience operational problems (especially accidents!) from the fuel's use. Make sure that the merchant who sells you this biodiesel can provide you with written assurance that the biodiesel meets this specification. One of the benefits of buying at the sites recommended by the national biodiesel board is that it also features the lowest biodiesel prices for quality diesel fuel.
Below are the ASTD standard safety guidelines and other biodiesel product information.
Oral Toxicity. Although pure biodiesel is considered to be non-toxic but this doesn't mean you should drink it! The lethal dose is 17.4 percent of the person's body weight. However table salt is much more poisonous. By contrast you can overdose on table salt by ingesting 1.74 percent of your body weight.
Skin Irritation. Human patch tests have showed that 100% biodiesel causes mild irritation of the skin but the irritation was less than the one produced by water mixed with 4% soap. If you are allergic to soap then you may be allergic to biodiesel.
Aquatic Toxicity: Water is not officially considered to be poisoned by biodiesel unless it is containing a concentration of biodiesel grade methyl esters greater than 1000 mg per liter.
Biodegradability. Biodiesel degrades about four times faster than petroleum diesel fuel. Within 28 days, pure biodiesel fuel is decomposed 85 to 88 percent if allowed to decompose in water. Dextrose (sugar) degrades at the same rate. Blending biodiesel with diesel fuel also accelerates the biodegradability of regular diesel fuel. For example, blends of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel fuel degrade twice as fast as No. 2 diesel alone.
Fl Point. According to many biodiesel product information sources, the fl point of a fuel is defined as the lowest temperature at which the vapor above a combustible liquid can be made to ignite in air. Biodiesel's flpoint is over 260� Fahrenheit, well above petroleum based diesel fuel's fl point of around 125�. Obviously this makes biodiesel a less volatile choice when it comes to risk of explosions or fire.
Testing for the purposes of conveying biodiesel product information has shown the fl point of biodiesel blends increases as the percentage of biodiesel increases. This means, biodiesel and blends of biodiesel with petroleum diesel are safer to store, handle, and use than conventional diesel fuel!
Ash Ried is the author of numerous guides and articles on Biodiesel.
You can find articles on How To Make And Use Biodiesel on his website.
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