Learn all about soybeans at the MN Soybean Festival this Saturday, May 21 in Downtown Farmington. Events start at Noon.
This weekend marks the 2nd annual Minnesota Soybean Festival held in Downtown Farmington. This event, to be held on Saturday, May 21, celebrates the soybean, and features hayrides, live music, parade, vendors, fair food, beer garden, historical exhibits and more!
In the spirit of the Minnesota Soybean Festival, we’d like to educate you on one specific use of soybeans – biodiesel.
Biodiesel is a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources such as plant oils, animal fats, used cooking oil. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. Biodiesel blends can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with little or no modifications. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.
Benefits of Biodiesel:
- Biodiesel reduces U.S. dependence on petroleum imports and increases domestic jobs.
- Biodiesel can be used in most existing diesel engines in blends up to 20 percent.
- Biodiesel made from soybeans only uses the oil portion (19%), leaving the protein to nourish livestock and humans.
- Soy-based biodiesel complements and enhances production of renewable fuels from other oils.
- Fuel that is 20 percent biodiesel reduces total hydrocarbons by up to 30 percent, carbon monoxide by up to 20 percent and total particulate matter up to 15 percent.
For further information about this weekend’s festival, visit www.mnsoybeanfestival.org. For more information on biodiesel in the great state of Minnesota, visit www.mnbiodiesel.com.
You got it all right, that’s for sure! There will be a biodiesel truck in the parade at the Minnesota Soybean Festival too – pretty cool that we can grow something in our backyard to fuel our vehicles. What a great blog post!