re moderate levels, while use costs are little more than those associated with fossil fuels. Environmental harm stemming from the use of biomass energy is lower than that associated with the use of fossil fuels. The level of supply of biomass energy is essentially limitless, because it is a renewable source of energy (Weirauch, 2001).
Biomass fuel is an alternative to diesel fuel; hence the name bio-diesel. This alternative fuel derives from esterified vegetable oils. The fuel creation process includes reacting crude vegetable oil and methanol in the presence of a catalyst to yield methyl ester. Rapeseed oil (the basis of canola), soybean oil, and hemp are among the vegetable oil sources used to create bio-diesel fuel. Environmental advantages of the fuel are no sulfur emissions, no increase in carbon dioxide over diesel fuel, a flashpoint twice that of diesel fuel, and biodegradability (Elowsky, 2000). Biomass fuels also include ethanol (Potera, 2002). The primary limitation on the
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