Vegetable oil as Diesel fuel? (not biodiesel)?

Question

I'm not talking about Biodiesel or Waste Vegetable Oil. I'm talking about Straight Vegetable oil, or Pure Plant Oil. Its the same stuff the restaraunts buy to cook with, but you buy it yourself before they foul it up. 50 cents a gallon is typical, and it will run in any diesel once its warmed up (requires a two tank system with regular #2 diesel for cold starting.) I researched WVO (waste vegetable oil) use and it can be damaging if not filtered well. Biodiesel costs the same as diesel in my area(phoenix AZ). Thats why SVO (Straight Vegetable oil) is a better choice. Has anyone actually done this? Not theoretically, but actually, can this really be done and is it cost
effective for a company with a 5 truck home service fleet? We spend $6000 per month on fuel so this cheap fuel thing sounds to good to be true.

Answer 1

Yes! The JR Simplot Company in Idaho ran a some diesel semis on pure vegetable oil back in the 90's!

Well maybe not pure but.... read the url below

Answer 2

Yes, this can be done and can also be cost effective if done in quantity. At the moment, all biodiesel is done on a relatively small scale as compared to diesel fuel and gasoline. The major problem is impurities in the vegetable oil. I have a friend using biodiesel in hhis truck (he runs a small organic farm) and it does cost him about 10-15% less than the farm diesel he bought previously. However, the impurities can be a killer. His truck smells like french fries! At least it isn't the black noxious clouds he used to have. My friend is doing this on a small scale compared to what you propose, but I suspect you could achieve the same 10-15% saving as he does. One last thing, the heat content of the fuel. Biodiesel has a slightly less heat content per pound, so, the diesel has a lower peak power output under load. He noticed the difference on the freeway under heavy load, going up a steep hill, but otherwise, the slight loss of power output is not significant.

Answer 3

Yes, such a thing is possible, but only on a SMALL scale. The sclae needed to power all the cars in the world or the USA will far outstrip the space available to produce it. Also don't forget EROEI (energy returned on energy invested). If it takes more energy to make the SVO than you get from burning it, the entire process is pointless...

Answer 4

There are many companies that do this...but you are right it has to be filtered so it won't to plug the injectors, it's very cost effective. Locally I know of people who use all the cooking oil from restaurants.

Answer 5

i only have WVO and it works great and its free i don't know where you can get straight clean oil for only .50 cents a gallon when the oil i see at the store is like 4.00 -4.50 a gallon