Alternative Fuels Biodiesel explained
Kevtherev: Biodiesel and SVO (Straight Veg Oil).
Sources of SVO are not just palm oil, they are... oil seed rape (yello fields ) soyabean, sunflower, some types of algae, and recycled chip oil et al.
A recent survey in t'States found there was 4.5 Billion gallons of used veg oil available for recycling and we scoff more chips than them!
The other way to fuel a diesel engine with vegetable oil is to reduce the oil's viscosity before it gets into the tank and in this way, neither the engine or vehicle needs modification. Biodiesel is the name of a variety of ester-based oxygenated fuels made from vegetable oils or animal fats. A Methyl ester of vegetable oil or what we now call Biodiesel is very similar to normal petrochemical based diesel fuel. Basically the veg oil is washed in hydrogen peroxide to remove the glycerine and washed with water to remove any impurities. Its viscosity is only twice that of diesel fuel and its molecular weight is roughly 1/3 of vegetable oil, hence it can be used as a straight petro-diesel replacement. This reduced viscosity vegetable oil is now called Biodiesel with a number of standards like the European EN 14214 standard and American ASTM standard defining exactly what the properties of that oil should be.
In the short term and until the diesel engine industry fits all engines with fuel heaters, Biodiesel might be the quickest way to drive the fuel's adoption and start displacing some of the petro diesel we use today. ---
