Perhaps the biggest misconception about biodiesel is that it is a mixture of vegetable oil and gas. This is a very dangerous delusion. Whatever you do don't pour vegetable oil into your gas tank. Don't pour it straight into a diesel engine or an ordinary engine. It will simply eat away at the rubber in your sealants and hoses, possibly scald and dissolve some of the metals in your engine part and clog up your engine with guck that will need removal by an automotive professional.
With gas prices on the rise, many are looking ways of cutting fuel costs by mixing vegetable oil and gas. This is possible but only if you have a diesel engine or diesel car that can run on vegetable oil mixed with diesel fuel. Most people who are looking to cut fuel costs by using a mixture of vegetable oil and gas are really looking for biodiesel. Not all car engines can run on biodiesel.
However don't think that you can mix just a bit of raw vegetable oil with some diesel fuel and pour it into your tank. Raw vegetable oil cannot meet biodiesel fuel specifications, it is not registered with the EPA, and it is not a legal motor fuel. It bad for the diesel engine or diesel car. Fuel grade biodiesel goes through quite a bit of processing be for it acceptable to be sold commercially.
To be sold commercially, biodiesel must be described as 'fuel grade' by the ASTM D6751 (American Standards Testing of Materials). The only biodiesel that can legally be sold or traded is biodiesel that meets the specifications of ASTM D6751 and is legally registered with the Environmental Protection Agency is a legal motor fuel for sale and distribution. Operationally, 'fuel grade ' biodiesel blends perform very similar to low sulfur diesel in terms of power, torque, haulage and fuel consumption without major modification of engines or machinery.
Fuel grad biodiesel is registered as a fuel and fuel additive with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and meets clean diesel standards established by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have designated neat (100 percent) biodiesel as an alternative fuel. However vegetable oil and gas, either processed or not is not recognized by any government as a fuel and most importantly it is not recognized by the national biodiesel board or any of the manufacturers who make diesel cars and diesel engines.
Ash Ried is the author of numerous guides and articles on Biodiesel.
You can find articles on How To Make And Use Biodiesel on his website.
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