What You Need To Know About Biodiesel Fuel

Biodiesel, as the US Department of Energy defines it, is an alternative fuel that is made from vegetable or animal oils, as well as used cooking oil obtained from dining establishments. Many people and organizations have become more partial to the use of biodiesel fuel because it does not severely impact our ecosystem. In fact it is the only alternative fuel that is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. ;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWsHIYnIN1A&feature=related]

Also, the increased drive to use this type of nontoxic and biodegradable fuel came with the increasing concerns that the world's petroleum reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being made. Biodiesel also has higher fuel lubricity and cetane number which means your engines will last longer and run more efficiently as well.

Biodiesel is one of the byproducts of the chemical reaction which occurs when vegetable and animal oils or used cooking oil is mixed with methanol. This is a highly efficient process being that wastage is kept at a minimum since glycerine can also be incorporated in a variety of goods like soap. Growing soy and corn, and subsequently processing these for their oil would necessitate a considerable amount of time and money. For this reason, biodiesel fuel is still more expensive than petroleum fuel. Despite its cost, using this alternative fuel is still worth considering since the advantages like reduction of carcinogens released in the environment and improved air quality far outweigh the disadvantages.

To promote the use of biodiesel fuel, many governments around the globe offer tax incentives. Even though brewing homemade biodiesel form used cooking oil is possible, but this requires a lot of technical knowledge and experience to pull off.

The B20 blend, which contains 20% biodiesel fuel and 80% petrodiesel, can be used on vehicles that run on diesel without having to modify the engine drastically. If you have used petrodiesel fuel in an engine, you may need to replace fuel filters to purge the sludge that remains in them. Make sure you have read the warranty of your engine to know if you can use biodiesel without voiding it.


Biodiesel production is an alternative fuel that is made from vegetable or animal oils, as well as used cooking oil obtained from dining establishments. Follow this link for an introduction to biodiesel fuel.