What is Biodiesel? I’ve read a lot on alternative fuel lately, and I’m interested in others opinions.?

Question

Following a recent article in the LA Weekly, which made alternative fuel and electric cars look very cool, I started some web research of my own. Wow, there is a lot out there that makes it look like we could drive a lot greener then we do, pollute less, and stop sucking on the tit of the big oil companies who just showed record profits at our expense, sounds cool to me. The thing that intrigued me the most was a co-op in LA that sells Biodiesel that can power any non-modified modern diesel car. So I’m in hyper drive with intrigue, and I’m interested in knowing what others know about Biodiesel or the Co-op here in LA LA Land. If anyone is using the stuff can you explain more about it?

Note: most of the answers I have received so far don’t go beyond the minimal web research I’ve done following reading the Article mentioned above, but thanks anyway. I just discovered that it is commercially available NOW here in LA, too cool. Soooo…what I’m looking for are answers form people that are actually driving biodiesel powered cars, and their experience with it, so that I can decide if it is the right choice for me or not.

Answer 1

Biodiesel is made from recycled vegetable oil (like that used in a fryer). It has to be heated, purified, and have the pH adjusted. When you heat the oil, it becomes more acidic, so they add alkali to it to get the right pH. A standard diesel can run on it, but you have to replace some of the rubber hoses in the engine with metal or non rubber ones as biodiesel can brake down rubber. I watched a show where a guy collected the old grease from a Mexican restaurant and turned it into biodiesel in his garage, cost: $0.55/gallon.

Answer 2

So basically Biodiesel is an alternative fuel for regular diesel. It is usually made from recycled cooking oil. Of course there is more to it then everybody thinks. You have to have the proper equipment to process it. It must be filtered and have some chemicals added to it, but the result is a cleaner, cheaper for of fuel.
You see in a diesel the fuel is ignited by compression from the piston. The heat created from the high compression of the engine causes enough heat to ignite the fuel. In a gas engine there are spark plugs that ignite the fuel. A diesel has glow plugs which heat the cylinder when first starting the vehicle, because there isn't enough heat built up at that point. That's why alot of people who live in cold clements have engine block heaters, it keeps the engine warm, allowing it to start it extreme cold conditions. Although if you live somewhere that cold (like Laramie, Wy LOL. I lived there for a year, yeah, -27 is considered extreme cold) it is a good idea to have an engine block heater on any kind of vehicle.

Answer 3

Biodeisel is generally made from soybeans which are grown for that purpose. It takes less energy to make than ethanol. We investigated it for our boat. Our answer was that an old engine probably should not switch to it as it is more slippery and would go through gaskets. Also it would clean out the fuel tank so that you would need to change the filter several times after the switch. It smells like popcorn when burning.I agree that we could drive alot greener if the government would let us. There are many smaller cars available in Europe that are not imported, that use much less fuel. We do have biodeisel available on Delmarva.

Answer 4

Bio-diesel is made from used vegetable oil, from beans like soybeans, and I read it can be from plankton. The process involves heating the oil to remove the glycerin witch plugs the injectors in your engine. It takes several 100 dollars of equipment, your time, and a place to heat and store your fuel oil.
The equipment can be purchased online at many sites. You will need a place about size if a car parking space that's inside. All the insructions come your equipment, and are easy to follow.

Answer 5

I saw an episode of Mythbusters in which Jamie and Adam ran a diesel car on filtered used cooking oil. Most restaurants just throw it away, so it can be collected very economically. I'm sure that somehow, George Bush will make it illegal, so it may be a good thing to start collecting now.