Michal buys commercially produced fuel in 55-gallon barrels from a local distributor.
Joe Thompson from University of Idaho at Moscow demonstrates small-scale production of biodiesel for do-it-yourself users.
Justin Craven of Grease Car runs his 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit on straight, unprocessed waste vegetable oil.
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Biodiesel options
Commercially produced biodiesel
This option is the easiest one for the user. Biodiesel is produced on a large scale by a commercial refinery, and is typically guaranteed to meet strict quality standards. It can be used in its pure form (B100) or blended with diesel fuel in any ratio - most popular blend is B20 - 20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is interchangeable with petroluem diesel, can be used in virtually all diesel engines with no modifications, and no special vehicle technology or fuel storage and dispensing system is required. The downside of this option is high cost, and limited availability of the fuel.
Home-made biodiesel
This option is similar to running on commercial biodiesel, but the users make their own fuel. Home-made fuel can be made almost anywhere, from local resources, and is less expensive than commercial biodiesel. The downside of this option is hazards associated with production, and difficulty to maintain quality control, and as a result, possible deterioriation of the fuel injection system.
Conversion of engine to run on straight vegetable oil
This option requires installing a second, auxiliary heated fueling system, and allows for any vegetable oil to be directly burned in the engine. The engine operates in a bi-fuel mode - the engine is started and warmed up on the regular (diesel or biodiesel) fuel, while the auxiliary fueling system is heated to its operating temperature. Once this temperature is reached, the engine runs from the auxiliary tank, combusting waste grease. The fuel is essentially free, readily available, and no potentially hazardous process is involved.
The downside is that burning straight vegetable oil can lead to premature wear on the fuel injection system, although it is possible that these problems can be resolved.
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