Biodiesel

What is 'biodiesel'?
Biodiesel is a relatively clean burning fuel that can be derived from a number of different things, but it is mainly made from vegetable oils. It can be used to power vehicles and generators. It can be used as a home heating oil. Basically anything that you use regular petroleum diesel for, biodiesel can be used as an alternative.

Is biodiesel the same thing as vegetable oil?
Biodiesel is not the same thing as vegetable oil. It's derived from vegetable oil, but in the process of producing biodiesel, it becomes chemically different from the vegetable oil.

How is biodiesel made?
Biodiesel can be made from a number of sources. It's mainly made from vegetable oil, whether that's virgin vegetable oil or from used cooking oils. It can also be made from animal fats. For the purposes of this discussion, most people make it from used cooking oil, on the home-brew scale, or from virgin vegetable oil of some kind, on the industrial scale.

How does the use of biodiesel help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Biodiesel reduces greenhouse gas because, although it produces carbon dioxide when it's burned, that carbon dioxide was taken from the atmosphere relatively recently by a plant that would then produce oil that was then turned into biodiesel. So, although there's tailpipe emissions that include greenhouse gases, those greenhouse gases don't increase the overall amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

What are some of the benefits of using biodiesel?
Other benefits of using biodiesel include that it reduces our dependence on imported oil, which is always good from an energy independent standpoint that we can use what's grown locally. Biodiesel's also good for diesel engines. It provides good lubricating properties. It can also be mixed with regular diesel in the event that you run out of your regular biodiesel, or are in an area where you can't purchase biodiesel.

What are some of the drawbacks of using biodiesel?
There are two main drawbacks to using biodiesel. One is that many of the newer car warranties don't allow for the use of biodiesel. Another is that if you decide that you are going to make your own biodiesel it can be relatively time-consuming and it can potentially be a little bit messy.

Do I need to convert my car's engine to run on biodiesel?
That's a common misconception. In order to run straight vegetable oil in your vehicle, you need to make modifications to the diesel engine in order to be able to do that. Biodiesel is different. It can be run in an unmodified diesel engine. There's no need to change anything at all.