EnviroCar

The Biodiesel Alternative

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel that can be used in any diesel vehicle without any technical modification. Produced from renewable resources, such as vegetable oil or animal fat (found in used restaurant grease), biodiesel contains no petroleum. It is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics. Biodiesel is currently available in pure form called B100, but can also be blended with petroleum diesel to create B30, (a 30% percent biodiesel and 80% petrodiesel blend), B20 or B10.

Depending on the climate, pure (B100) biodiesel may need to be warmed with an engine block heater before it can be used in diesel engines. That is a simple task requiring you switch to the fuel after starting your vehicle and back to regular diesel before you stop it. Other than that your car can run on pure biodiesel, reducing CO2 emissions by around a fifth.

Biodiesel could have an overall whole life-cycle effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40-60% over ordinary diesel engines, taking account of the combined reduction in emissions as well as the energy used in the extraction or growing of the fuel.

The high profile promotion of 30% bio-fuel comes at a time when the EU is pressing hard for increased production of plant-derived products. Brussels has tasked the motor and oil industries with collectively reducing CO2 emissions to 120g/km by 2012, compared to the current average of 160g/km. Meanwhile, the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation is targeting sales of bio-fuels to account for 5% of all fuel by 2010 – a twenty-fold increase over today’s sales.

To further incentivise production and sales, lobbyists and industry experts are calling on the Government to introduce additional measures to encourage its use, ensure production is tied to quality standards and improve availability to the end user.

posted by Eric @ 5:48 PM