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Biodiesel - Principal Uses

Jacob Kingston

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Jacob Kingston, an entrepreneur active in renewable energy, works as chief executive officer of a Plymouth, Utah-based firm committed to biodiesel production. Washakie Renewable Energy, Jacob Kingston’s company, manufactures biodiesel that customers use as a fuel or in fuel blends.

Biodiesel is made from renewable sources such as animal fats and vegetable oils. In the United States, biodiesel is chiefly produced as an alternative to petroleum-based diesel used to power vehicles like cars and tractors.

Though biodiesel alone can power some diesel engines, it often appears in the marketplace as part of a biodiesel and petroleum diesel blend. Blends are designated according to their proportion of biodiesel. For instance, a “B5” product is 5 percent biodiesel, a “B20” product is 20 percent biodiesel, and a "B100" product would be pure or 100 percent biodiesel.
Over the past decade, biodiesel manufacture has skyrocketed. In 2007, America produced roughly a half billion gallons. By 2012, that number had increased to more than 1 billion gallons.