While today biodiesel relies on agricultural crops or waste vegetable oil for raw material, a heaping portion of the fuel could come from plant waste and animal fat that would not take resources from the food supply.
In Germany researchers have developed a bacteria that can turn plant oils, plant waste and recycled paper into biodiesel, according Engineer Live. Professor Steinbüchel of the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität's biodiesel process does not require addingmethanol, a toxic wood alcohol, so it would be less expensive to produce.
Meat processors think they can fatten their wallets by turning animal fat into biodiesel. Companies the process poultry, pork and beef including Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods and Perdue are all investing in facilities that would turn animal waste into energy, according to the Des Moines Register.
Tyson has enough raw material to produce more than half of the biodiesel that was generated this year.
We are closing in on being able to create ethanol from cellulosic plant materials, so a biodiesel alternative seems feasible as well. Our conspicuous consumption and love of meat that today populates landfills could be part of our salvation from fossil fuels. By extracting the energy from our abundant waste to produce fuel for our cars and homes, we can slowly eat away at our fossil fuel dependence and trade deficit.