While there are many reported advantages for the use of biodiesel fuels, there are also many disadvantages, with numerous problems or faults being reported by users. This is in addition to the problem of the cost of using biodiesel due to it being so much more expensive than regular petroleum diesel. One of the main problems seems to be the use of additional land being taken up simply to grow the extra crops required. To make biodiesel fuel on such a large scale obviously requires growing the...

Obtaining fuel from a fat is not by any means a new process. In 1853, a couple of scientists named J. Patrick and E. Duffy performed the first experimental vegetable oil transesterification, many years prior to a diesel engine actually becoming fully functional. Records indicate however, that the first vehicle to run on biodiesel fuel was a 10 feet single iron cylinder designed by Rudolf Diesel on August 10th 1893 in Augsburg, Germany. Seven years later in 1900, in Paris, France, his engine was ...

Nationwide average prices for alternative fuels and conventional fuels vary from state to state. With biodiesel fuels, a lot depends on the concentration of the mix; the higher the mix of biodiesel to regular petroleum diesel, the higher the price at the pump. In April of 2009, The United States Department of Energy reported that biodiesel with a B20 rating was approximately 22 cents a gallon more than regular diesel, and biodiesel with a B99/B100 blend was approximately a dollar higher. For ...

The use of Biodiesel Fuels in our cars could possibly be speeding up the destruction of the world’s rainforests, which in turn could result in greenhouse gas emissions being even higher than burning regular petroleum diesel. In the United Kingdom alone, in 2009 in excess of 1.3 million hectares of arable land was harvested in order to grow 2.7% of the transport fuel. To stay within guidelines, an increasing amount of biofuel has to be mixed to petroleum diesel. In 2010, fuel has to be on avera...

The benefits of using biodiesel fuel in cars are varied and are many. They cross a wide spectrum of reasons and opinions, and most are based on fact, although there are some benefits that stem from a more personal perspective of car owners. People change to biodiesel because they want to help the environment, the economic structure, or simply for no other reason other than they want to try it. Economically, the domestic economy has been contributed to significantly by the biodiesel industry. ...

Even though biofuel is commonly referred to as a liquid fuel derived from plant matter and waste, there are other solid versions that might be even better recognized by people. An example of a liquid fuel would be a biodiesel fuel and bioalcohol, whereas a solid biofuel would be for example, grass cuttings and wood and sawdust. Both versions work in the same way by creating a heat source, either by burning directly (solid) or indirectly through an engine (liquid). Liquid biofuels such as biod...

It has been said that the very first diesel engine was designed to run on biodiesel fuel. The inventor of that first diesel engine, Rudolf Diesel, designed a simple machine which ran on its own power for the first time on the 10th of August, 1893 in Augsburg, Germany. This event is commemorated on the 10th of August every year with International Biodiesel Day. The first engine was intended originally to run on a vegetable oil based biofuel, although over the coming years it evolved into the petr...

As diesel becomes more and more expensive owing to a) governmental annual tax rises b) the increasing cost of fuel owing to its scarcity (at least we are led to believe) it's even more apparent that we need to use the fuel better, in a more efficient and less poluting manner. Big oil companies have developed a range of super fuels that contain additives to help the diesel engine run better (more economically) and they sometimes call it 'Super Diesel'. The premium they attach to the fuel is aroun...

Since the continuous price increases of normal diesel there has been great interest and desire to make fuels from waste oils. This so-called Biodiesel is derived from oils used such as vegetable, or animal fats. Diesel from fossil sources is ever increasing in price owing to government taxation. In the prodcutio of biodiesel there are a few chemicals that could be hazardous if not handled correctly. Methanol is one of the main components used in the process. It is an alcohol, and is part of t...

Biodiesel is an alternative energy source. It is produced from vegetable oils and/or animal fats by a method of purification. Typical sources are soybeans, corn, rapeseed and animal sources. More and more people are making biodiesel at their premises. Provided there is a plentiful supply of reasonable quality oil and work-up is to a good standard then a fuel of sufficient purity to run a car can be made. If making your own is unpractical then some petrol stations are beginning stock it, at price...