The global biodiesel market has shown an exponential growth in production and trade across the past decade. Nowadays, more biodiesel than ever before is sourced from abroad and procurement areas – especially of large scale producers and traders – span the globe. While this trend is bound to continue, markets and trade developments are still strongly linked to support and trade policies. Furthermore, the biodiesel industry is strongly linked to other sectors (agriculture and mineral oil industry in particular) and faces significant market disturbances some of which have led to various inefficiencies in the past. Due to the pace of this market development, a methodological assessment and understanding of the numerous influencing factors was needed to reduce uncertainties and risks for those involved.
Report on the Current Situation and Prospects - Abstract from the UFOP Annual Report
Extracts from the UFOP report 2010/2011. The extract gives an overview about the development of Biodiesel production and sales in Germany and describes the political discussion and decisions affecting Biofuels.
The trace element content in fuels plays an important role in the release of exhaust after treatment systems. All metals which are emitted with the engine combustion can increase the exhaust gas back pressure in the after treatment system to inadmissible values due to the formation of ashes. Additionally, exhaust after treatment systems metal coatings and catalysts are contaminated and/or deactivated by phosphorus and alkali element.
Consequently, in the project promoted by the Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e.V. (UFOP) and the Verband der Deutschen Biokraftstoffindustrie e.V. (VDB) “Determination of the emissions and the particle size distribution (fine dust) in the exhaust gas of a modern Euro-4-commercial vehicle engine with SCR emission control using biodiesel”1 (project manager Prof. Dr. Munack/Prof. Dr. Krahl, vTI Braunschweig), it was established that the ageing of the SCR catalyst, caused by the use of biodiesel with a content of 10 mg/kg phosphorus, was substantially accelerated with continuous 1000 operating hours. The content in RME corresponded to the maximum permissible limit value according to standard DIN EN 14214 (2003).
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The subject of this project, which was initiated by the AGQM, was a feasibility study for the analysis of the field of application of nanostructured molecularly imprinted polymer adsorbent particles (MIPs) for the isolation of minor bio-oil components (useful and/or contaminant materials). As an example of minor components – in the present example Stigmasteryl-6-Opalmitoyl-alpha-D-glucopyranosid - ASG was selected as a contaminant in biooils.
Acylated Sterylglycosides (ASG) are minor components in vegetable oils. After the transesterification of the bio oil during the bio diesel production the acyl radical is separated, creating Sterylglycoside (SG). SGs are briefly soluble in the biodiesel but thereafter slowly crystallise slowly from the FAME; this process can be accelerated by cooling. The residual SGs can lead to a blockage of filter materials.[1] The separation of ASG from bio oils is therefore of significant importance for the quality improvement of the biodiesel.
Study not suitable for defining a default value for Canola biodiesel
The Deutsche BiomasseForschungsZentrum gGmbH (DBFZ) has published a brief study of the greenhouse gas balance of biodiesel from Canadian rapeseed in which it evaluated the suitability of the result as new default value for greenhouse gas for biodiesel based on rapeseed from North America within the framework of the EU Directive 2009/28/EC concerning renewable energies. The DBFZ concludes that the study is not suitable for defining a new default for Canola biodiesel.
The aim of the short study was to assess whether the results of the study were suitable for a direct comparison with the default value of biodiesel from the EU Directive as well as the introduction of a new default value for biodiesel produced from Canadian rapeseed.
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Regional quantification of climate-relevant land use change and options for combating it
The reason for this study is the EU Commission’s report on the impact of the EU biofuels policy which must be submitted by the end of 2010. To fight climate change, the EU has set its sights on further expanding the use of biomass in its policies – not just for the transport sector. In terms of the effects of EU biofuel policy, the question arises as to whether indirect land use change associated with biofuels should be combated through regulation and, if so, how. Direct land use change brought about by biofuels has already been addressed in the Renewable Energies Directive (2009/28).
This study concludes that land use change (LUC) – or converting natural forest, grazing land or fallow land to cropland – continues to be a major problem in some regions of the world, not only for climate protection. The effects of land use change can be direct (dLUC) or indirect (iLUC). If the original use of the land was carbon-rich in the vegetation or in the soil (for example, forest) and the subsequent use is carbon-poor (pastures or crops), LUC increases the amount of carbon dioxide released and thus adversely affects the climate.
With the enactment of the EU Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (RES-D) and its enactment under German federal law in the form of the Biofuel Sustainability Ordinance (BioKraft-NachV), a number of binding sustainability criteria for the production and use of biofuels have been introduced. Amongst other criteria, the EU Directive as well as the German Ordinance includes specifications with regard to the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) by means of biofuel use. Meeting these reduction targets will in future be a mandatory condition for the recognition of a fuel as part of the national biofuel quota.
The environmental assessment of biofuel production and use is becoming increasingly relevant as a result of the current political conditions at the European and national level. As a result of the intense public debate about the sustainability of an increased biofuel use, the European Commission introduced sustainability criteria for biofuels by the means of the EU Directive 2009/28/EC (RES-D). With the enactment of this directive and its implementation within Germany under the terms of the Biofuel Sustainability Ordinance (Biokraft-NachV), compliance with specific savings targets for greenhouse gas emissions will become obligatory for biofuels [1], [2]. For this reason it will be of vital importance for biofuel producer to be able to identify and make use of possible environmental optimisation potentials in the greenhouse gas balance of their fuel.
Report on the Current Situation and Prospects - Abstract from the UFOP Annual Report
Extracts from the UFOP report 2009/2010. The extract gives an overview about the development of Biodiesel production and sales in Germany and describes the political discussion and decisions affecting Biofuels.
Since governments and societies becoming more and more aware of the geopolitical, economical and environmental risks of oil dependency biofuels are gaining a rising attention. In Mexico the use of biodiesel as an additive to improve the lubricity of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel is considered. As the biodiesel quality affects the properties of the final blended fuel agreeing on common standard for biodiesel properties is an important step towards the creation of a national biodiesel market.
The effects of the splitting of the engine-internal „late” post-injection in regeneration mode during the operation with the fuel blends B7, B10 and B30 (admixture content of RME from 7, 10 and 30 %-vol.) on the fuel entry into the engine oil as well as on the change in the oil viscosity were examined in stationary test runs at the Institute for Mobile Systems IMS, Chair of Reciprocating Machines at the Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg. The project was financed by the Union zur Förderung von Öl- und Proteinpflanzen e.V. (UFOP).
The bench tests, which were carried out in an operating point with small engine load in the regenerating mode, showed that the fuel entry increased into the engine oil with increasing RME content of the fuel. In this case the RME-concentration increased in the engine oil whereas the DF-concentration decreased.
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The 13th International Rapeseed Congress will take place from the 5th to 9th of June 2011 in Prague, Czech Republic. For further information concerning the organisation or the topics discussed, please see attached file.
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Berlin, August 3, 2010. A new US study on the greenhouse gas (GHG) balance of soy-based diesel has been evaluated by Deutsches BiomasseForschungsZentrum (DBFZ). The study published by the United Soybean Board (USB) concludes that biodiesel produced from soy in the United States achieves a greenhouse gas reduction of 52 % based on defaults. The USB study is analyzed for conformity with European Directive 2009/28/EC both for the methodology applied and the database on which it relies. As a result, the DBFZ finds that even if the method by which the GHG balance is calculated complies with the requirements of the European Directive, the underlying data involves some uncertainties and as such should be looked at more closely.
Even if the assumptions and general conditions for the calculation method applied by the USB study are exactly those required by the European Directive, the DBFZ found inconsistencies in the underlying data that require closer examination.
For further information klick here to download the document.
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German biofuel associations published a list of all commercial vehicles, which have received a release for the use of pure biodiesel (B100) or a proportion of 30 percent (B30) from their manufacturers. The list is based on a survey among commercial vehicle manufacturers carried out in the spring of 2010. This list contains further information about biodiesel and is available on the websites of the Union for the Promotion of Oilseeds and Protein Plants and the Association for the Quality Management of Biodiesel (http://www.agqm-biodiesel.de/). There is also important additional information available such as the specific release terms of the commercial vehicle manufacturers regarding the use of biodiesel in their vehicles.
The availability of release declarations is the precondition for the future marketing of biodiesel as only fuel or as blending component in diesel fuel.
With the target of obtaining the release for the TCD 2013 4V of emission level EURO IV with DEUTZ Common Rail injection system in commercial trucks, an engine and function test on the test rig and a field test for making sure of the biodiesel compatibility were performed by DEUTZ AG with financial assistance from the Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e.V. (UFOP).
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The Associations of the German Biofuel Industries
state:
- The proportion of biofuels in the fuels market has dropped dramatically since 2008, mainly due to the setback of the market for pure biofuels (B100 and vegetable oil).
- The blending of biofuels to fossil fuels cannot compensate the setback of the pure biofuels market.
- The minimum content of 10 % renewable fuels required by the Renewable Energies Directive (2009/28) by 2020 cannot be obtained on the basis of the applicable biofuels regulation under the German Federal Immission Control Act.
The German sustainability decree does not only increase administrative costs for the biofuels sector nor is it a simple amendment to the sustainability decree on electricity generation from biomass (BiomassestromNachhaltigkeitsverordnung - BioSt-NachV)). First, it re-defines market access to one of the top EU biofuel markets, also for non-EU market participants, from mid-2010. Second, the decree determines feedstock sourcing for biofuels producers. Finally, it may act as an example for the yet to be issued EU guidelines. Besides the new requirements from the government's decree, the biofuels consumption pattern is to change in the years to 2015, while discussions on the implementation of a greenhouse gas (GHG)-based biofuels legislation have already started.
For further information klick here to download the document.
In its latest release, DEUTZ AG reports on the state of release for the use of biodiesel as pure fuel. The release lists the engine series for which biodiesel has been permitted as pure fuel and the future TCD 2015 series, for which the release has been announced for 2010.
DEUTZ AG underlines that exclusively biodiesel complying with specification DIN EN 14214 must be used. Users are therefore recommended to make a careful choice of the suppliers and of the necessity of obtaining a letter of guarantee from their suppliers that the specification of DIN EN 14214 will be met. In this context, DEUTZ recommends to its customers in Germany to „provide additional safety of the quality of biodiesel by obtaining a certificate of AGQM (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Qualitätsmanagement Biodiesel e.V.)“.
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The International Energy Agency’s Task 39 "Commercializing of the 1st and 2nd Generation Liquid Biofuels from Biomass" is going to inform the important producer and consumer countries about the results of a survey of grant policy basic parameters for biofuels with a continually updated report.
Interviewees for the survey were experts of the respectives countries. For Germany, the UFOP presented a report in collaboration with the chairman of the UFOP expert commission „Biofuels and renewable resources“, Prof. Dr. Munack (vTI) who is also a member of the IEA’s Task 39. The report considers the current politic state of discussion as far as possible at the time of delivery.
Final Report Abstract promoted by:
• Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR • Union zur Förderung von Oel- und Proteinpflanzen e.V. (UFOP • Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg • Fuchs Europe Schmierstoffe GmbH
Currently Biodiesel (RME) is mixed according to EN 14214 and EN 590 with up to 5% of fossil Diesel fuel. With a further increase of RME fraction to 10% (B10 blend), there are uncertainties regarding the undisturbed longlife behavior due to variations of the physicochemical properties of RME in comparison to commercial Diesel fuel.
The increasing use of rapeseed meal as feedstuff for pigs and the development of the sales market for laying hens make a low content of glucosinolate an absolute necessity. Viewed in the light of the requirements of monogastric animals concerning the high digestibility of proteins and a high praecaecal digestibility of amino acids, stronger toasting in the oil mill process with the aim of accelerating the degradation of glucosinolate should strongly be Rejected.
Olive and rapeseed oil are both considered beneficial for lipid metabolism because of their high content of monounsaturated fatty acids. In this analysis were compared postprandial lipid metabolism after test meals with these plant oils including hydrogenated plant oil as a reference. Please download the detailed report here.
From a quota system to GHG reduction requirements and the impact on biofuels
Since biofuels have been criticised increasingly in the recent past, current proposals for the reorientation of biofuels policy at German and European levels require sustainability certification of biofuels.1 In addition to the assurance of sustainable biomass production for bioenergy, reduction of GHG is also highly emphasized. The tendency is to no longer set mere volume or energetic quotas for the use of biofuels. It rather becomes apparent that in future policies GHG saving targets or at least a minimum percentage of GHG savings for biofuels, which can be accounted for within the quota system or tax promotion will dominate.
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Joint Strategy between BMU/BMELV, VDA, MWV, IG, VDB and DBV
At the round table discussions on biofuels held on 17 January and 5 June 2007 respectively, a joint strategy to promote biofuels – the Biofuels Roadmap – was agreed between Germany’s automotive industry, oil industry, SMEs operating in the oil industry, agricultural sector, Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) and Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). The Roadmap sets out the medium-term measures needed to promote the use of biofuels in Germany and the EU.
Back in 1990 the UFOP established a completely new organisation structure in germany. All companies, associations and institutions participating i the production, processing and marketing of indigenous oil and protein-bearing plants are gathered under the UFOP banner. Read more about the tasks, structure, members and funding of UFOP by downloading the UFOP-Imagefolder.
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These guidelines have been developed under the Unilever Sustainable Agriculture Initiative in cooperation with UFOP to support sustainable management practices for winter oilseed rape (WOSR) production.
Every litre of biodiesel saves 2.2 kg greenhouse gases
Biodiesel (rapeseed oil methyl ester, RME), made from rapeseed, has become increasingly important as a source of fuel. During the last year alone its production has increased by approximately 30 % to 1.1 Million tonnes. In recent years there has been significant progress made in scientific research into biodiesel
This UFOP booklet you can download here was written for all who must or wish to take care of their cardiovascular system. Correct nutrition is an important aspect of this and can help to keep the cholesterol level balanced and to protect the arteries against encrustation. The so-called "Crete diet" has proved to be a particularly effective form of protection.
The gently produced rapeseed oil gives a subtle pep to salad dressings, dips and marinades. In German kitchens, rapeseed oil has usually remained anonymous under the general designation "vegetable oil", but quality from Germany has a name, and tastes good too. That is why vegetable oils made from rapeseed are proclaimed more and more often. If you are interested in cooking with rapeseed oil you can try out the recipes in the booklet that can be downloaded here.