Different forms of B100^TM (or biodiesel) have been made since before World War II, but has enjoyed limited use.

B100™ has been registered with the WorkSafe Australia by MBM^TM as a fuel and a additive, and is legal for commerce in Australia.

In Australia, forms of B100^TM have been mainly limited to demonstration programs in various vehicles powered by fuel derived from waste vegetable oils, and at the same time creating problems for injectors in diesel engines.

Alternative motor fuels are considered to be one of the means to reduce the growing pressure of traffic on environment and energy demand. In a limited way, they could create an alternative for the classic fossil fuels such as diesel and petrol, of which the resources will be depleted in a few decades. A promising example of an alternative fuel, that is ready for general introduction in a very short time, is B100^TM.

B100^TM is a cleaner-burning, alternative diesel fuel made from renewable and recyclable resources — specifically, vegetable oil. B100^TM is non-toxic, biodegradable and free of sulphur and carcinogenic benzene. Chemically, B100™ is a mono alkyl ester of long chain fatty acids. B100^TM is produced by a chemical process that reacts with new or used vegetable oils.

Not only is B100^TM safer for people and the environment, it also reduces Greenhouse Office and EPA-targeted emissions and increases the oxygen in the fuel/air mixture. B100^TM contributes to a more complete fuel burn and a greatly improved emissions profile. The environmental hazards caused by accidental fuel spills, whether on land or in waterways, are greatly reduced by using B100™ as an alternative fuel.

Aside from being home-grown, B100^TM offer several advantages. It burn's more cleanly and completely than conventional diesel, emitting virtually none of the sulphur, carbon monoxide and particulates that create black clouds behind trucks and buses.

Those particulates and aromatic compounds help give diesel more kick, but also lead to the caustic odour of burned petrodiesel. B100^TM has a different odour to diesel - it smells like fried chips - so much so, in fact, that officials at Yellowstone National Park balked at the idea of fuelling tour buses with the stuff several years ago for fear the aroma would attract grizzly bears.

B100 also is more environmentally sound if it happens to leak or spill, since it readily breaks down or can be neutralized, unlike petroleum-based fuels that can only be broken down with detergents that can create their own hazards in nature.

Many scientists believe that global warming is occurring because of the rapid release of CO₂ through combustion of stored carbon such as petroleum diesel. Replacing petroleum diesel with B100^TM could reduce the CO₂ accumulation in the atmosphere.

Because of the great similarity, B100 can be mixed with mineral diesel and used in standard diesel engines. Very few technical adjustments are necessary, if any. So, from a technical point of view, B100 can be applied almost immediately. Since the base fuel is an agricultural product, we have the ability to produce and control this energy source, a situation very different to the crude oil business. This may result in local employment, reduced dependence on oil-producing countries and could also be used as a way of stimulating and supporting agriculture.

The results of this project point out that, specially for the passenger cars, a blend of 20 to 30% B100^TM gives excellent results on emissions and energy consumption. It is preferred above pure B100^TM, since pure B100 in general only gives minor improvements in emissions, compared to this blend. Moreover the low blends do not seem to have the disadvantages of a loss of engine power, an increased volumetric fuel consumption and increased NOx emissions, which are related to the use of pure B100^TM. Some effects however seem to depend on the engine technology. For the Heavy Duty engine there is a clear additional advantage of using pure B100^TM.

Low blends have the following advantages:

• Compared to pure B100^TM, there is no need for engine adjustments, no effect on fuel consumption and vehicle power, a larger fraction of the market can be reached, the potential of emission reduction in the total fuel market is much higher, the effect on the fuel price is reduced.

• Compared to mineral diesel fuel there is better lubrication of the fuel injection system (=> less wear), a positive effect on exhaust gas emissions, a comparable or somewhat higher energy efficiency, an improvement of biodegradability of the fuel.

Looking at the total potential of B100^TM, the obvious strategy is a general application of very limited number of blends of B100^TM. This strategy has the following additional advantages:

• the full B100 potential can be reached more easily,
• public acceptance for small changes to the fuel is much better than for a radical change,
• no need for adjustments in the fuelling infrastructure (no extra pumps),
• very little effect on the fuel price.

Despite all advantages mentioned above, it takes a number of conditions which are necessary before a general market introduction of B100 can be achieved. A number of these are already being looked into on an Australian level by MBM.

1. guarantee of product quality
   The B100 should fulfil certain product specifications. In order to guarantee product quality, a general standard of B100 should be installed in Australia. This standard should contain B100 from all sorts of raw materials.
   
2. availability of raw materials
   The availability of the raw materials should be guaranteed. This can be done by support of the production of vegetable oils.
   
3. industrial co-operation
   The industrial co-operation consists in the building of production units, the general blending of 5%-30% B100^TM to mineral diesel by the petroleum industry, the acceptance of the fuel by the car industry.
   
4. support of government
   The government should support the general introduction of B100 into society. The means for this are defiscalisation in order to limit the price difference with mineral diesel (specially for the niche applications of pure B100^TM).

   It is clear that several sectors are involved in this process and that a willingness to co-operate is primary to make a general introduction of B100 a success.