Understanding what energy choices are best for the environment can often raise more questions than answers.

To help build understanding about biofuels, Caltex has provided an objective source of information on this website.

Essentially, we hope the information presented here will enable you to make informed assessments on which fuels are right for your vehicles and machinery.

Why use biofuels?

What are biofuels?

What are the benefits of biofuels?

How do different blends affect emissions?

Biofuels & Sustainability

Biofuels & My Vehicle

What's their effect on air quality?

Where can I find Caltex Bio Fuels?

Why use biofuels?

Biofuels have been used in Australia for over a decade and their popularity is growing.

This is because they help address two major issues currently facing the world:

1. Energy security
As our global population grows, so does the concern over adequate fuel supplies to meet demand.

2. Climate change
Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are affecting the environment. Biofuel blends emit lower CO2 emissions without hampering the engine performance of modern vehicles.

By enabling alternatives to regular fuels, biofuels have started to play an important role in helping to make our future more sustainable.

What are biofuels?

Caltex Bio Fuels are currently made from feedstocks or biomass crops, such as grains, cereals and oilseeds. They are also made from animal and cooking fat waste.

The plant-based feedstocks, like sugar and grains, are formulated into ethanol, while the plant and/or animal fats are used for biodiesel. These are the two main forms of biofuel used for transport in Australia.

Ethanol is blended with unleaded petrol and can be substituted for regular unleaded petrol in most new and used cars, heavy trucks and motorcycles.

Australian biodiesel consists of used cooking oil, canola oil and tallow blended with diesel. This formulation can be effectively substituted for petroleum diesel in vehicles and stationary engines.

Biofuels in the future

The methods we currently use to produce biofuels are known as first generation, because they use feedstocks that are widely recognised and readily available. However, they are labour-intensive to produce and have been criticised for pushing up the price of food, as they require the same resources as food crops.

Nonetheless, the merits of biofuels have been recognised and the next generation of biofuels isn't far away.  At this moment, a good deal of investment and research is going into the development of non-traditional feedstocks to make biofuels. These include algae, municipal waste, weeds and other plants that don't require the same intensity of resources to grow.

What are the benefits of biofuels?

When sold as biofuel blends, biofuels have the advantage of being an alternative fuel that can be used right now in existing car technology. Other alternatives, like electric cars and hydrogen-powered cars, still have a few years before reaching the mass market.

Biofuels also cycle the carbon they produce. So while they emit some carbon during driving, biofuels also remove existing carbon from the atmosphere as crops grow, neutralising the CO₂ emitted. This is different to petroleum that only increases the level of carbon in the atmosphere when it's used and produced.

There is now a range of new cars that use higher blends of biofuels, enabling our everyday petroleum requirements to be reduced even more. In Australia, flex-fuel vehicles are now available that are able to run on E-Flex, a blend of up to 85% ethanol and regular petrol.

How do different blends affect emissions?

Not all biofuels bring equal benefits. E10 blends made from C-molasses produce lower carbon emissions than blends made from waste starch.

Similarly, a biodiesel blend made from tallow or vegetable oils can produce lower emissions than an equivalent blend from canola.

The table below from the CSIRO Biofuels in Australia - Issues & Prospects 2007 report illustrates the CO₂ savings that each biofuel blend produces when compared to 100% unleaded petrol or diesel.

At this stage, the use of higher percentage blends of biodiesel or even B100 (or 100% biodiesel) is limited to specialised purposes and trials. This is because the chemical properties of the final blended product begin to alter significantly at biodiesel contents greater than 20%. However, as engines become more sophisticated, higher percentage biodiesel blends may become more commercially available.

Biofuels & Sustainability

A good deal of debate has occurred over the past few years regarding the environmental credentials of biofuels.

The fuel versus food argument, along with large-scale clearing of rainforests for palm oil plantations, has damaged the image of biofuels.

While these are very serious issues for the global community, it is worth knowing that they don’t apply to the Australian biofuels industry for two reasons:

1. Australian biofuels producers use waste and by-products, or have developed co-production processes that generate both food and fuel.
2. Local biofuels producers are supported by the Federal Government. This makes Australian biofuels cost-competitive when compared with imports.

It’s also worth knowing that palm oil is not produced in Australia and Caltex does not use biodiesel produced from palm oil feedstocks.

Biofuels & My Vehicle

Ethanol blends and biodiesel blends can be used in most new and many older cars, utes, vans and trucks, without affecting the manufacturer's warranty. Most petrol vehicles manufactured after 1986 are able to run on E10, while specifically manufactured or modified vehicles, categorised as flex-fuel vehicles, can run on E-Flex, a blend of up to 85% ethanol. Most diesel vehicles are able to run on B2 and B5 blends. Caltex Australia only sells B20 blends to commercial customers so that stricter quality controls over application and storage can be ensured.

Find out more about the different types of biofuels.

What's their effect on air quality?

E10 produces lower chemical emissions, such as carbon monoxide, benzene and butadiene, than unleaded petrol alone. However, it also produces higher emissions of aldehydes. There appears to be little overall effect on smog.

Biodiesels also produce lower emissions of carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter, compared to 100% petroleum diesel. However, oxides of nitrogen, which contribute to smog, may be slightly increased.

Where can I find Caltex Bio Fuels?

To locate your closest Caltex Service Station that sells Caltex Bio Fuels, enter your location and select your service and product preferences. Bio B5 is only available at selected sites in New South Wales for motorists. In addition, Caltex Australia only sells B20 blends to commercial customers so that stricter quality controls over application and storage can be ensured.

Alternatively, you can conduct a quick search by completing one location field and clicking on a search button.

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