Biodiesel emissions contain less hydrocarbons, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. A U.S. Department of Energy study showed that the production and use of biodiesel, compared to petroleum diesel, resulted in a 78.5 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Biodiesel does not contain sulfur so it doesn’t give off the sulfur dioxide emissions or poison exhaust catalysts that are connected with acid rain. Additionally, biodiesel acts as an engine-protective lubricity additive for Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULDS).

The U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has made a groundbreaking finding on biodiesel. A new study shows that NOx emissions from B20 are likely to be neutral in real-world applications. Further, another NREL study discovered that using biodiesel and ULDS offers a performance benefit over ULSD alone, beyond increasing lubricity. Testing results show that when biodiesel is blended with ULDS at 5 or 20 percent, the required temperature for soot combustion is much lower. This means that the 2007 engines’ diesel particulate filter (DPF) clogging with soot is less likely to occur. Also, even with a DPF in place, B20 provided an additional 67 percent reduction of particulate matter.

²U.S. Department of Energy