NBB Report: Biodiesel Helps Environment, Food Supply

Sept 12 , 2007 -In May of 1998, the US Department of Energy (DOE) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the results of the Biodiesel Lifecycle Inventory Study. It compared findings for a comprehensive "cradle to grave" inventory of materials used; energy resources consumed; and air, water and solid waste emissions generated by petroleum diesel fuels and biodiesel in order to compare the total "lifecycle" costs and benefits of each of the fuels. This 3.5-year study followed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and private industry-approved protocols for conducting this type of research.

It found that for every unit of energy that goes into making biodiesel, 3.2 units are gained. That’s a very high energy balance, especially compared to diesel. For every unit of energy that goes into making diesel fuel, only .88 of a unit is gained, for a negative energy balance.