Advanced biofuels like biodiesel, renewable diesel, renewable jet fuel/sustainable aviation fuel, and renewable heating oil have physical properties similar to petroleum distillate fuels and can be used for the same purposes. Along with traditional biofuels like ethanol, advanced biofuels qualify for use under the United State’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program and may also qualify for use under state government fuel standards and programs.
Biodiesel: America’s First Advanced Biofuel
Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine in 1897, experimented with using vegetable oil as fuel in his engines. The fuel made from vegetable oils and animal fats that we call biodiesel today is named after him because it is mostly used in diesel engines (as is petroleum diesel fuel). Biodiesel meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification D6751 and is approved for blending with petroleum diesel and other distillate fuels. Biodiesel blends up to B5 meet the ASTM D975 specification for diesel fuel while blends of B6-B20 meet ASTM D7467.
Biodiesel is produced through a simple process known as transesterification, which chemically converts vegetable oils and animal fats into ASTM quality biodiesel. Vegetable oils (mainly soybean oil) are the main feedstocks for U.S. biodiesel production. Other major U.S. biodiesel feedstocks include distillers corn oil (a byproduct of ethanol production, canola oil, animal fats from meat processing, and used cooking oil and yellow grease from restaurants. The feedstocks used for biodiesel production can affect the physical properties and uses of biodiesel.
Renewable Diesel and Other Advanced Biofuels
Renewable diesel and other (non-fuel ethanol) advanced biofuels and biointermediates can be produced from nearly any biomass feedstock, including those used for biodiesel production, through a variety of processes such as hydrotreating, gasification, pyrolysis, and other biochemical and thermochemical technologies.
Renewable diesel is a biomass-based diesel fuel similar to biodiesel, but with important differences. Renewable diesel is a hydrocarbon that is chemically equivalent to petroleum diesel that can be used as a drop-in biofuel (R100) and can be transported in petroleum pipelines and sold at retail stations with or without blending with petroleum diesel. Renewable diesel production uses a hydrogenation process rather than the esterification process used to produce a low-carbon renewable diesel fuel. Because renewable diesel is a drop-in fuel, it meets ASTM D975 specification for petroleum diesel and can be seamlessly blended and transported with petroleum diesel.
Most renewable diesel is hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel (HDRD) or hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) produced by hydrogenation of triglycerides, a similar process used for desulfurization of petroleum diesel. For this reason, existing petroleum refineries can be converted for renewable diesel production with only modest retrofits. However, hydrotreatment of renewable feedstocks requires significantly more hydrogen than desulfurization of diesel, and the source of the hydrogen can affect whether or not the renewable diesel meets national or state standards for advanced biofuels. Other methods can be used for renewable diesel production, such as gasification and pyrolysis. Renewable heating oil is similar to renewable diesel fuel but meets ASTM D396 for fuel oils.
Renewable jet fuel may be called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), alternative jet fuel (AJF), or biojet depending on the context or fuel standard under which it can be used. Renewable jet fuel meets ASTM D7566, which currently allows for up to a 50-50 blend of biomass-derived blending components and petroleum jet fuel. Other non-fuel ethanol biofuels include renewable naphtha, renewable gasoline, renewable propane (a by-product of renewable diesel and SAF production), and other emerging biofuels. Another aviation biofuel that is being tested for use is alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) – sometimes referred to as ethanol-to-jet (ETJ).
Origially shared by the Energy Information Administration, June 29. 2022. Updated for clarity and purpose, January 4, 2023.