Biodiesel (methyl esters) is a clean-burning diesel replacement fuel obtained from natural, renewable, agricultural resources such as palm oil, jatropa oil, soybeans or rapeseed (canola), or recycled cooking oil from restaurants.

	According to the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture, biodiesel yields 280 percent more energy than fossil diesel fuel, while producing 47 percent lower exhaust emissions.
	Biodiesel is less combustible than fossil diesel, as harmless as table salt and as biodegradable as sugar.
	Biodiesel works in any diesel engine with few or no modifications.
	It reduces emissions but performs comparably to diesel, with similar BTU content and higher cetane.
	Although it contains no petroleum, biodiesel can be blended with diesel at any level, the most common level being 20 percent (B20).

Environmental benefits

	Yes. Each year, soybeans and other plants that produce oils used in cooking or making biodiesel, draw CO2 from the atmosphere to build stems, leaves, seeds (which contain the oil), and roots.
	At the end of the year, the oil used for biodiesel is burned and the leftover plant material decomposes, returning the carbon from the fuel and the plant matter to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2).
	This recycling of carbon from CO2 in the atmosphere to carbon in plant material results in no accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere.
	Therefore, it does not contribute to global climatic change.
	Biodiesel produces 2661 grams of CO2 per gallon, compared to 12,360 grams per gallon for petroleum diesel fuel.