Biodiesel is a fuel product that does not contain petroleum. It is a derivative of vegetable oils such as corn or soy, which have been put through a refining process to remove glycerin. Once the vegetable oil has gone through this process, it can either be combined with regular petroleum diesel, or used instead of diesel as an alternative fuel source for a vehicle.
There is a misconception that biodiesel is the same as regular vegetable oil. However, biodiesel is refined through a process called transestirification, making is capable of powering any diesel engine without modification. The steps involved in this process include purification of the oil and neutralization of fatty acids. During transestirification, the vegetable oil is heated at roughly 131 degrees F for several hours. This causes the vegetable oil molecules to break down and separate into the glycerin and the biodiesel. The glycerin is much denser than the biodiesel, so it can easily be drained. Once this happens, the biodiesel fuel is then washed with warm water to purify it before it is ready for use in a diesel engine.
Biodiesel only works in vehicles with diesel engines, where it can work as both a mixture of diesel and biodiesel or as pure biodiesel. Unlike running a vehicle on pure vegetable oil, biodiesel requires no engine conversion, and if the consumer does not like the biodiesel, he can easily switch back to diesel without having to make any changes to his vehicle. However, older, pre-1994 vehicles may require minor modification, such as the replacement of rubber hoses with synthetic ones. Biodiesel is a clean fuel, and it also has a degreaser property, meaning that it will actually clean your vehicle's fuel system.
There are many positive aspects to biodiesel. It is environmentally friendly, and is actually safer than regular diesel. It helps to reduce dependency on foreign oil and requires no engine modifications. And because it is a lubricant, it will decrease overall engine wear.
However, biodiesel does have some drawbacks. It is a solvent, so over time it can cause rubber to deteriorate. It can also cause increases in harmful NOx (nitrogen oxides) emissions. Biodiesel also reduces fuel efficiency by 10 percent. Additionally, biodiesel costs more than regular diesel fuel.
