Used Vegetable Oil

The concept of using vegetable oil as a fuel dates back to 1895 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the first diesel engine to run on vegetable oil. He demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and described an experiment using peanut oil as fuel in his engine. Because used vegetable oil may contain a number of food particles and other contaminants, a biodiesel conversion kit also contains a special filter mounted near the engine block. This filtering process ensures that only heated vegetable oil reaches the engine, reducing the risk of clogged fuel lines and contamination of the engine block. Biodiesel fuel blends containing both petroleum and organic materials have already been filtered, so that fuel is not sent through the filter. Biodiesel blends also use oils which have been processed to remain liquefied regardless of air temperature.

The used vegetable oil mixed with the fuel drawn from the fuel tank 3 via the fuel line 4 and the throughflow quantity meter 20 is transferred via the fuel filter 5 and the temperature sensor 21 to the fuel pump 14. Because of the fuel return lines present in Diesel engines--the fuel pump delivers considerably more than the engine consumes, so-called dual line system in order to avoid used oil accumulations in the tank, the return line 18 must be carried back directly into the fuel line 4. The functions of the dual line system cooling and ventilation of the fuel--can also be assumed by other known ventilation systems, if necessary.

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Using Alternative Fuel - Texas Biodiesel

Aside from being a cost-efficient way for consumers to fill their tanks, many hope that an increased use of biodiesel, homemade or otherwise, might also be a significant step towards addressing the growing concerns of pollution and global warming. Diesel fuel in general is more efficient than regular gasoline, and biodiesel is even better, yielding a comparable mileage per gallon and burning up to 75% cleaner than petroleum diesel fuel. Most impressively, using biodiesel over regular diesel can reduce carbon dioxide emissions nearly completely. Whereas burning petroleum diesel or gasoline leads to a net increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and contributes to global warming, burning biodiesel only replaces the carbon dioxide that was used to make the fuel in the first place.