Biodiesel Fuel

What Is Biodiesel? 

Biodiesel fuel has gotten more and more media attention lately with news about fluctuating gasoline prices and concern about energy independence. But many people don't really understand what the term biodiesel fuel means, where it comes from, and whether different types of biodiesel are available. Many people also want to know how to make biodiesel.

The goal of this section of our website is to answer the questions what is biodiesel fuel, how do you make biodiesel fuel, and what is the cost of biodiesel fuel. This article focuses on different types of biodiesel and the meaning of the terms SVO, WVO, B20 and B100.

True biodiesel will run in any diesel engine, without modification, and when biodiesel is not available, fossil-based diesel can be used in the same engine.

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel source made from plant-based oil, often soybean oil, that has been processed to run in diesel engines as a biofuel, and is sold at fueling stations just like petroleum-based diesel fuel. 

You may wonder if biodiesel is safe for your car. The answer is yes, although you have to be aware of a couple of characteristics it features. Biodiesel is a solvent, which means it will “clean out” the gunk and junk from your fuel system. You’ll find that your fuel filters need changing more often, and you should be prepared to change the fuel filter at any time during your first tank or two of biodiesel. This is actually a good thing, because it’s cleaning out your fuel system and making your car run cleaner. But it can be a bit of an inconvenience.

The other possible side effect of biodiesel is that some of the rubber hoses, particularly older ones, may leak. Many people don’t have any leaks at all, while others find that just replacing the hoses in the fuel system is a good maintenance step for their vehicle anyway.

When you decide to try biodiesel fuel, you’ll first need to be sure there's a fueling station in your area. Many cities have several but some areas have none. You can look up biodiesel stations in your area online. While some are traditional “gas stations,” you may find many that look more like the refinery.

B20 and B100

Biodiesel comes in two grades, B20 and B100. B20 is 20% biodiesel and 80% petroleum diesel. You should start with B20, because of the aforementioned cleaning out of your fuel system, and then move up to B100. B100 is about 99.9% biodiesel and .1% petroleum, because of federal laws making it cheaper to produce biodiesel with a trace of petroleum.

SVO biodiesel vs. WVO biodiesel

SVO, or standard vegetable oil, and WVO, or filtered waste vegetable oil, are often called types of biodiesel fuel, but they are not manufactured for use in vehicles. They require modifications to the engine of the car, which makes them much more of a tinkerer’s fuel than something most people can use. This is one reason “biodiesel” is not more popular: many people believe they’ll have to convert their cars to use biodiesel.

Commercially-produced biodiesel is less damaging to the environment than petroleum based fuels, and better for your car. While it is currently inconvenient for some people to locate and fill up with biodiesel fuel on a regular basis, it has the advantage of not needing a conversion kit, and being extremely easy to use in comparison with other biofuels such as vegetable oil.