FAQsAren't diesels dirty?It's not the engine, it's the fuel. The much-maligned diesel engine is not deserving of its bad rap. The diesel engine is one of the great feats of engineering, and was originally designed to run on vegetable oil. It wasn't until later that the petroleum industry created its own fuel to run in (and subvert the idealist origins of) the diesel engine.
In a way, the diesel engine is a victim of its own superiority. Because the engine is so forgiving, diesel fuel processing was done as cheaply as possible, making for toxic emissions. Now with the popular rediscovery of biofuels, and with its high torque and efficiency, the diesel engine can help us to reduce our CO2 emissions and our dependence on oil. The fact is that if biodiesel or SVO is put in a diesel engine, it will have dramatically reduced greenhouse gasses, carcinogens, toxins, soot, hydrocarbons and sulfur compared to either a gasoline engine or a diesel engine running on petroleum diesel. Do you have to convert a car to run biodiesel?NO. When you hear about engines being modified, it is only for SVO (straight veggie oil). Biodiesel will run in ANY unmodified and unconverted diesel engine- be it tractor, generator, boat, or car- straight from the factory or showroom floor. Vegetable oil is processed into biodiesel so that it has the physical properties that modern direct-inject turbo powered diesel engines require. If you have an older car, you may eventually need to replace some rubber fuel lines because the biodiesel will want to dissolve them, but it's very inexpensive- $50 or so. Cold weather is more of a problem with biodiesel than with petroleum diesel, depending on the feedstock used. What kind of cars can i use biodiesel in?You can use biodiesel in any vehicle with a diesel engine. Again, there is no conversion necessary to run a diesel engine on biodiesel. Conversions are only necessary if you use SVO- unprocessed straight vegetable oil. What's the difference between B100, B99 and B20?B100 is biodiesel. B20 is a blend of 80% petrodiesel with 20% biodiesel. B5 is a 5% biodiesel blend with 95% petroleum diesel. B99 is essentially pure biodiesel, but has 1% petroleum in it to receive a tax break for using it as a blend. The tax break is given to the blender who then (hopefully) passes the savings down to the consumer. How much does it cost to convert to biodiesel?There is no cost to convert to biodiesel, because you don't need to convert a diesel engine to run biodiesel in it. SVO (straight veggie oil) conversions range from $700 to a couple thousand dollars. a B100 whacko friend of ours recently wrote this: • It "costs" the petroleum industry when you stop doing business with them... Some "costs" I can live with. Can i legally make biodiesel and sell it to others?The short answer is No. again from one of our B100 whacko friends: In the eyes of the EPA, any time a fuel or fuel additive enters commerce and is used on the road it must be registered with them which requires health effects testing etc.... And along with that goes things like NBB membership, ASTM testing etc... $$$$, yada,yada yada. The EPA defines entering commerce to include sale, trade, barter, exchange, so you can not accept anything of value from your friends in exchange for the fuel including a plate of chocolate chip cookies. How do i find out if it's available near me?check Los Angeles B100 locations How long have people been using biodiesel? Are there any long-term studies?There have been extensive studies done in the U.S. by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Stanadyne Automotive Corp, among others. A study done by NREL and the US Postal Service can be found here:USPS/NREL Study. Hundreds of fleets and thousands of biodiesel enthusiasts have logged millions of miles running biodiesel. Aside from that, biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have completed the Health Effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act. Its effects on the environment and car engines are well known. Can i use biodiesel in my boat?Yes- the same storage, temperature and engine issues apply for boats as they do for cars. As biodiesel is non-toxic and biodegrades very quickly in the environment, marinelife willl thank you for using it. The NBB's Marine Biodiesel page has lots of good info. Biodieselnow has a good Marine Biodiesel forum. Is biodiesel or its fumes toxic or dangerous?Biodiesel has greatly reduced emissions compared with petroleum diesel. Obviously you don't want to breathe it, but you'd rather have your kids inhaling the occasional whiff of biodiesel than its petroleum counterpart or gasoline. I heard the U.S. Military is using biodiesel. Is this true?The U.S. Navy is the largest consumer of biodiesel in the world. As of June 1, 2005, all U.S. Navy and Marine non-tactical diesel vehicles have been mandated to operate on a blend of 20% biodiesel fuel (B20). Will biodiesel affect my fuel economy and power?Your car's fuel economy and power with biodiesel in the tank may be up to 10% lower than with petro diesel. This is because biodiesel has about 9% less energy content than petroleum diesel. Many people feel no difference, however, because biodiesel has a higher cetane rating which tends to make up for the less energy content. Does it matter what kind of oil biodiesel is made from?Yes. Different feedstocks have different cold-weather properties. A good way to think about what the best feedstocks are for you is to think of what feedstocks grow in your climate. Palm oil, for instance is a good feedstock for the tropics, while canola oil is more suitable for Canada. Animal fats are a good summertime feedstock, but are too viscous in winter for most climates. Also, the sustainability of certain feedstocks is something to consider. Large tracts of rainforest are cleared for palm oil. Soy and corn are large scale monoculture crops and are not the most ecologically sound. Not to mention trucking oils from various feedstocks around the country defeats the purpose of using biofuels. Here in California, we need to think about what plants are good for use as local feedstocks. Biodiesel made from local walnut oil has proven to be great and crops such as algae and jatropha have been identified as good potential sources of oil for California. Will it hurt my engine?No. Biodiesel that meets ASTM spec 6751 is better for your engine than petroleum diesel because it has higher lubricity and runs cleaner. Bad or out-of-spec biodiesel can be bad for engines, and can quickly clog an injector or ruin an injector pump. Every time bad biodiesel is sold, it has the potential to give biodiesel a bad name. The grassroots biodiesel movement is concerned with quality assurance for this reason. If you have an older car with rubber parts in the fuel lines, biodiesel will slowly degrade the rubber over time. Replacing these rubber parts with new synthetic ones is relatively cheap and easy. Will using biodiesel or SVO void my warranty?Depending on the manufacturer, running biodiesel or SVO may void the warranty on your fuel system. Until biodiesel is more accepted by car manufacturers, they will not all guarantee their fuel systems for use with it. For example, VW North America is keenly aware of its TDI owners' predilection for biodiesel and is keeping tabs on how their engines are doing on biodiesel, but right now, they don't warranty the use of more than 5% biodiesel (B5) with their cars. For the most part this means that if you get a bad batch of biodiesel and it clogs up your injector, you are on your own. As long as the fuel is good, however, your risk of messing up your fuel system from biodiesel is very low. For more information, the NBB has a comprehensive warranties page. Are there subsidies/ tax breaks for biodiesel?Yes. Currently, those tax breaks and subsidies are biased toward the agricultural (especially soy) and petroleum industries, however. The subsidy is only for biodiesel made from an agricultural product and used as a blend. The Biodiesel Council of California is working hard to counter this bias. What if everybody starts using biodiesel? Will there be enough? Will it drive up the price of the oil in our food?As the demand for biodiesel grows, there will be more processing plants coming online to fill those needs. As biodiesel can be made from virtually any vegetable oil and some animal fats, creative solutions, such as using oils from algae, fungus, and jatropha have been identified as potential sources of oil to keep pressure off our food supply. What is "diesel secret"?Not a secret, not diesel and not a good long term solution for your car. Diesel secret is some sort of blend of SVO, gasoline and some other additives. Blending vegetable oil is a time-honored way of ruining your engine. Formal sudies have shown that unless pre-heated, VO blends will cause ring coking and other issues over time. What about cold weather?Biodiesel gels at higher temperatures than petrodiesel, which means in cold weather, you have to take precautions. Blending in petroleum diesel, kerosene or de-gelling fuel additives is a common practice in cold weather. See our Issues to Know About Before Using Biofuels page for more details. Are there biodiesel fuel standards?Yes. ASTM spec 6751 describes the properties of biodiesel. It is important for sellers to sell certified ASTM spec fuel so that probems from off-spec fuel don't cause problems with peoples' cars and give biodiesel a bad name, as has happened from time to time in the past. The NBB has embarked on a certification program in order to protect the consumer from bad fuel. Look for this logo when you buy your fuel: Can you store biodiesel?Yes. You can store biodiesel in HDPE (#2 plastic) containers for up to 6 months. After that it is recommended that stability additives be used to prevent deterioration. What is the energy balance of biodiesel?Very Good. It somewhat depends on the feedstock. Using soy, you get about 3 times as much energy as you put in. Other feedstocks, such as rapeseed, canola, and algae have an even higher (better) energy balance than soy. Petroleum diesel has a negative energy balance. It takes more energy to make it than you get out of it. Should i do SVO or Biodiesel?There is an ongoing and mostly fun debate between biodieselers and SVO'ers about which method to fuel your diesel engine is better. We recommend doing all the research on SVO and Biodiesel you possibly can and making an informed decision for yourself. |
