I've now seen 3 biodiesel converted cars in Oakland and wondering if anyone could educate me on what these motors run exactly? Is it more fuel efficient? Cleaner? Cheaper to operate? Any replies greatly appreciated!

 

Vegetable oil.

 

Monkey juice.

 

There's something called biodiesel, and there are waste vegetable oil (WVO) systems.

Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil, but goes through some proceessing to remove the glycerins from the oil. It can be used as a straight diesel replacement, though some cars require some slight retuning for emissions purposes if running 100% bio. Biodiesel is also sold blended with regular diesel at some stations at 5% and 10% bio (B5 and B10, respectively).

WVO systems usually have a second tank, since the oil will solidify in cold weather. WVO systems will start on diesel fuel, while heating the WVO tank. Once that tank is heated up, you can switch over and run WVO. Once you reach your destination, switch back to diesel to flush the lines and turn off the car.

The advantage to both these systems is biodiesel and WVO burn cleaner because there isn't the sulfur that is present in the diesel. Often, you can also get the used vegetable oil free or real cheap from restaurants and either process the biodiesel yourself, or filter it and use it straight in a WVO system. Plus, it's a renewable resource.

Rob

 

Feces