BIODIESEL
Biodiesel fuel can be directly poured into your gas tank. You do
not need to change your diesel vehicle in any way in order to use
biodiesel as your new favorite fuel choice.
About 20% of vegetable oil is glycerin. Biodiesel is created
from a simple chemical reaction of mixing about 80% of
vegetable oil with
about 20% alcohol and a catalyst. The catalyst separates
the glycerin from the veggie oil. This process is called
transesterification.
As you can imagine, this vegetable oil without the glycerin,
called “biodiesel”,
is smoother, runnier, and thinner (less viscous) than normal
veggie oil. It even has better lubricity (better lubrication
for your
fuel system and engine) than petroleum based fuels. This
adds life to
your engine and fuel system.
Biodiesel is as biodegradable as sugar and is less toxic
than table salt. Biodiesel also is practically non-flammable.
You can pour it
on a match and the match will burn out. (Compare this
with petroleum fuel, which always poses a high danger due
to its
flammability.)
Biodiesel has better solvency than diesel fuel. It will
loosen the deposits left by dirtier diesel fuels; therefore,
if
you switch over
to biodiesel, you should change your fuel filter since
the biodiesel will clean your fuel lines of all the
remaining deposited particles
left by diesel.
Biodiesel can be mixed with any amount of diesel fuel.
100% biodiesel fuel is called B100 within the biofuels
community.
20% biodiesel
fuel mixed with 80% diesel fuel is called B20.
For every unit of fossil energy needed to make biodiesel,
3.2 units of energy are gained. In contrast, it takes
1.2 units of fossil resources
to produce 1 unit of petroleum diesel.
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STRAIGHT VEGGIE OIL (SVO) OR WASTE VEGGIE OIL (WVO)
Instead of altering the vegetable oil through a chemical process
that separates the Biodiesel from the glycerin, you can use “straight” vegetable
oil. AS IS.
To
use straight vegetable oil (SVO) or used/waste vegetable oil
(WVO), you need to modify your diesel car by adding
a second
fuel tank with accompanying fuel lines. To use SVO or WVO,
you need to heat up the oil before it gets injected into your
engine
since vegetable oil is too viscous for the starting up and
shutting down of your vehicle. The oil can be heated up in several
ways.
An electric heater powered by the batteries and alternator
can be inserted in the fuel tank and/or plumbed into the fuel
line.
The coolant system can also be used to heat the tank, filters
and fuel line. Usually a combination of these techniques is
best to
handle all kinds of situations.
Steps in using WVO or SVO:
1. Start your engine using Biodiesel/diesel or a blend of the
two.
2. After the coolant system is up to temperature and has
heated the veggie fuel tank, switch to WVO/SVO.
3. Travel on the heated WVO/SVO for the majority of the trip.
4. Before shutting down the engine, switch over to using
Biodiesel/diesel to flush the engine of veggie oil. (SVO/WVO
sitting in the engine
will create problems with starting the engine when the engine
is cold.)
The main components of a WVO/SVO system are: A second fuel tank
(one tank systems are also possible), a heat source for the
fuel tank, a filter for the veggie fuel
stem (preferably
heated), fuel line for the veggie system (usually best heated),
a
fuel selector solenoid.
You will also need to devise your own creative strategy for
collected your free oil from restaurants (and filtering
it). especially
when you are on the road.
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