Demand vs produce in U.S.: The market demand for biodiesel in the United States is on the rise. Though the oil prices have dropped, more and more consumers are taking to biofuel as an alternative source. However, the country is behind Europe where about 2% of road transportation is on biofuel compared to the 0.5% of it in the United States. It has been gathered that biodiesel production has doubled (in fact tripled) in the country starting from 2004. While 2004 saw a biodiesel produce of 25 million gallons, 2005 saw a rise to 78 million gallons and 2006 topped it all with 300 million gallons. Approximately 700 million gallons were produced around 2008. This increased demand has pushed the industry to seek innovative feedstock for biodiesel.

Tallow as feedstock for biodiesel: Though several researches are on, the biodiesel industry has so far found no ’silver-bullet’ feedstock that can meet all the growing demands of the industry. Animal fat like tallow is an appealing feedstock, but it too comes with a lot of ifs and buts, issues and considerations. To make animal fat a potential feedstock, the industry aims to collaborate with the livestock and rendering industry in the proper purification and preparation of tallow fat for biodiesel use. Though filtering impurities would be a major job, other considerations need to be addressed before making animal fat as a continual feedstock for biodiesel industry. Below are a few issues faced by the industry in making tallow fat perfect for biodiesel production:

1. Processing hiccups: Tallow is processed into biodiesel through a process called transesterification. An alkaline catalyst like Sodium Hydroxide is used which is dissolved in methanol and then mixed with feedstock. While animal fat melts between 40 to 50 degree Celsius, methanol boils at 60 degree Celsius. This would mean that there will not be enough methanol for the transesterification of fat into fuel. Due to this, the temperature should always be kept under 60 degree during the process.

2. Soap formation: Since tallow is highly sensitive to the catalysts, it can result in soap formation or the formation of a thick glob. The more the presence of Free Fatty Acids (FFA), the more soap is formed. To avoid this production loss, the amount of FFA in the fat should be reduced using sulphuric acid as catalyst. When the content of FFA reaches less than 1%, the normal alkaline-based process can take place, using methanol and lye as catalyst. Better than all this is to process a feedstock that has lesser amount of FFA.

3. Glycerol sediments: Glycerol which forms as sediment at the base after transesterification cannot be removed from settle tank easily. It takes a special process to remove glycerol from the produced biodiesel and impurities or fat.

4. Higher freezing point: The Cold Filter Plugging Point (CFPP) can be higher in biodiesel produced with tallow than the one produced with vegetable oil. This may cause poor quality ignition in cold weather. To avoid this, it is necessary to blend biodiesel from animal fat with biodiesel produced from plants (like rapeseed oil).

Animal-fat based biodiesel: Animal-fat based biodiesel has long been ignored or sidelined in the biofuel industry. It has been given step motherly treatment compared to plant-oil based biodiesel and has been termed as a lesser-quality option. But according to scientific studies both animal fat and plant based oil contain the same chemical constituents and differ only in the proportion of the constituents. Both plant oils and animal fat (like tallow) are biodegradable, non-toxic and safe for use in diesel engines. Both reduce unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, particulates and also lubricate the engines well.

Livestock as fuel stock: When livestock is used as fuel stock, there are a few shortcomings. Many manufacturers knew about this and abstained from using animal fat in biodiesel. But with the advancement of technology, it has been proved that tallow is a  slightly better ingredient than vegetable oil in biodiesel production. Some manufacturers did not adequately manage the chemistry or downstream refining of the biofuel produced and this resulted in low quality biodiesel from beef tallow. Things have changed and now we have high-quality, animal-fat based biodiesel that complies with ASTM and EN standards.

There are several reasons why tallow is better compared to plant oil based biodiesel. Below are a few:

1. Cheaper than plant oils: Soybean oil, which is extensively used in biodiesel production, costs higher than animal fat. Owing to the high demand of the oil, soybean oil price has skyrocketed tremendously so much so that manufacturers find it difficult to balance between production costs and biodiesel rates. With such increased prices, fuel producers find animal fat as a better alternative to soybean oil.

2. High cetane number: Cetane number is something which measures the ignition quality of a fuel. The higher the cetane number, the better for the vehicle. Petroleum-based diesel has a cetane number of 40 to 52. While soybean-oil based diesel has a cetane value between 46 and 52, animal-fat based biodiesel’s cetane value is between 56 and 60. Higher cetane value results in improved fuel combustion and therefore, better vehicle performance. Tallow biodiesel is better in this way.

3. More lubrication: Animal-fat based biodiesel lubricates the engine parts better than its plant-oil based fuel. With protective compounds, the fuel reduces engine wear and tear, and offers it a longer lifetime.

4. Lower combustion: With higher cetane levels, tallow biodiesel comes with reduced emissions of  nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and pollutants. This makes tallow biodiesel a greener and better alternative to vegetable-oil based or petroleum based fuel.

However, there is one strong negative point against animal-fat based biodiesel and that is its poor winter performance. Since tallow is solid only at room temperature, it can lead to poor quality ignition in winter. This is a drawback compared to plant-oil based fuels which are active all time of the year. Yet extensive testing has shown that blends like B5 show no change even in cold weather conditions.

Beef tallow has been identified as a reliable source for biodiesel production. Though chicken fat and lard are used widely, beef tallow has gained prominence in biodiesel production due its cheaper availability and high cloud point. This article will deal with the future scope of using beef tallow as biodiesel.

Beef in your tank: Beef has a remarkable future in the biodiesel industry. There are several reasons for it, but the most important being its ready availability. Tallow is aplenty in the country compared to plant oils. Since plant oil production may affect the raise of crops, which in turn may affect food prices, animal fat is a safe and prudent alternative to soybean oil for biodiesel production. Manufacturers have shifted to animal fat due to cheaper production costs. It is estimated that with 2.5 billion pounds of animal fat (say, chicken fat), a biodiesel company can produce about 300 million gallons of biodiesel. Since biodiesel quality, usage and production varies with different blends, companies gain a lot from manufacturing biodiesel with animal fat like tallow.

Main drivers behind biodiesel production: Biodiesel has a stable future because of its environment-friendly condition. Biodiesel produced using tallow is greener compared to regular fossil based fuels, gasoline or even plant-oil based fuels. It is renewable, energy-efficient, nontoxic, biodegradable and is extremely eco-friendly. It has reduced tailpipe emissions, reduces particulates that cause global warming and can be used in all diesel engines without modifications. This is especially true with the B20 blend.

Biodiesel in the future: In the future, biodiesel produced from tallow will be the regular fuel pumped into our engines. This is because it now makes economic sense to invest in animal fat for biodiesel production than rely on plant oil (like soybean oil). Since plant oils like soybean oil are also used as food additives, the demand is higher than the produce. This has led to price creep in the United States, ruling out soybean oil from the biodiesel industry. A few manufacturers are attempting a blend of plant oils, animal fat and cooking oils. While this maybe possible, increase in price of one commodity may result in trading-in or displacement  of it with another. This would keep the renewable energy chain on the upbeat and would never cause depletion or lack of any particular energy resource.

The Tallow Advantage: Tallow is at great advantage as alternative fuel source owing to its ready availability. The American cowman does not require any extra effort to keep the livestock production up and going. The USDA predicts that the American meat production industry has shown a continued growth of at least 1 percent a year. This would mean steady supply of animal fat for biodiesel. Tallow is a byproduct of beef fat and hence, is not a virgin material like plants. Tallow biodiesel has greater oxidative stability which reduces the risk of sedimentation. Above all, since biodiesel is not a consumable product, if the quality of biodiesel adheres to ASTM standards, there would be no question of the quality of tallow or lard used. In brief, beef tallow would be a promising resource for biodiesel production in the future.

Biofuel manufacture: Fats or vegetable oils are used in biofuel manufacture. Since cultivation, production and shipment of biofuel using plant oils (vegetable oils) involves a lot of work, time and money, nowadays beef tallow or other animal fat is used in the production of biodiesel. Beef tallow biodiesel is highly beneficial for vehicles as it comes with minimal environmental pollution causing agents and is available for cheap as beef suet in markets and agricultural farms.
There are several reasons for use of biofuel in vehicles and for using tallow as the primary ingredient in the production of biodiesel:

1. Cheap availability: Compared to biofuel produced using vegetable oils or plant oils, biodiesel produced using tallow or other animal fat is extremely cheap. This is because of the ready availability of beef suet and the easy rendering process required to cleanse beef fat of its impurities. However, this will have a backlash on the effect of tallow use in other industrial applications like manufacture of soaps,  candles, leather etc.

2. Ready for use in existing forms: Biodiesel produced with tallow can be used in existing forms without modification. In fact, biodiesel would run more smoothly in engines in comparison to other alternative sources of fuels. It actually lubricates the engines better with clear burning emissions and thereby, a better environment. Biodiesel’s super-lubrication properties acts as a solvent to cleanse the engine. This effect is especially produced using B100 (100% biodiesel) or B20 (20% biofuel and 80% petroleum) fuels. However, biodiesel is very effective and complies with existing standards when mixed with 5% of regular diesel.

3. High flash point: Biofuel made with tallow runs  through the same compression process as regular transport fuels, igniting compressed, ultra hot air to make the vehicle move. Biofuel has a high flash point – the combustion or ignite point. While petroleum based biofuels ignite at about 125 degrees F, tallow biodiesel is safe even up to 300 degrees F.

4. Just like regular diesel: When it comes to mileage, biodiesel is just like regular fuels. It generally provides the same number of miles per gallon as regular diesel.

5. Cleaner environment: Biodiesel with animal fat like tallow is definitely the best way to a cleaner environment. It does not have pollutants that contribute to smog and global warming. It also has fewer cancer-causing agents. Above all, biodiesel is approved by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and meets the requirements and health effects of clean air act.

Beef Tallow in the making of biodiesel: Beef tallow has gained new life with the discovery of biodiesel using fats and oils. Beef Tallow has grown from the status of an ingredient in cooking, soap making or candle making recipe to that of an important element in industrial applications like the production of rubber, lubricants and fuel. This article will point out the pros, cons and limitations of beef tallow’s future in the biofuel industry.

Pros, cons and limitations: Biodiesel can be easily made from tallow like using very similar processes used in plants to produce plant oil biofuels. Biodiesel is actually produced by what is called the “transesterification” reaction of triglyceride molecules present in beef tallow with alcohol such as methanol in batch processes. Transesterification is actually a stepwise reaction that involves several batch processes in the transformation of animal fat into biodiesel. But there is one hiccup in this transesterification process and that is, batch processing and the economic viability of such processing. Research is on to make this batch processing a continuous process by reducing the production cost and time.

However, on a comparative note, beef tallow is a better producer of biofuel than plant oils. This is because, fuel produced by tallow has a higher cetane number compared to produced from plant oils. Though as triglycerides, animal fats like beef tallow can be used in the production of biodiesel, there are certain structural limitations to the process:

1. Research has shown that using tallow for biodiesel production is not possible without increasing its availability as feedstock. Else, it would affect the other industrial and cosmetic applications of tallow.

2. Tallow biofuel comes with a higher cloud point owing to the presence of higher levels of saturates. Tallow fuel has the tendency to crystallize at higher temperatures (unlike plant oils) and this makes it unsuitable for use during winters.

3. Tallow diesel often meets the required standards only when blended with regular diesel. A 5% mix of regular diesel to the 95% DIN-standard tallow biofuel only makes it appropriate for practical use.

4. The existing process of production of tallow biofuel is a long and strenuous one. Only by reducing the batch processes into an economically viable continuous process, we can make biofuel production using tallow fruitful.