Biodiesel: New Fuel Now

by Chris Savage
February 1, 2006

Last year I became interested in alternative fuels, particularly those that are made from renewable sources. Now that I've looked into it, I'm very excited to have found a local source of biodiesel for my 2004 Jetta TDI Wagon. TDI stands for Turbo Direct Inject and is VW's very excellent diesel engine. I've done considerable research into biodiesel and I just can't think of any reason not to use it. It's only 10-20 cents more per gallon than my local gas station's regular diesel and the environmental benefits are substantial.

The most common biodiesel these days is a 20% blend with premium diesel known as B20. The station where I buy mine also has B5 which is 5% biodiesel blended with regular diesel fuel. B20 is common because it can be used at all temperatures and no changes to the existing engine need to be made. Higher than 20% and, apparently, biodiesel has trouble in cold weather (I live in Michigan.)

The benefits of biodiesel, as I have mentioned, are worth taking a look at it:

- It's a renewable resource. Most biodiesel is made from soybean oil. It's also possible to make it from used vegetable oils as students at the University of Michigan recently proved. They showed that the U of M could save over $150,000 annually by incorporating waste greases from the University Health System cafeterias and area restaurants. My wife's aunt, uncle and cousin are soybean farmers and they use soybean-based biodiesel for all of their farm equipment. They've promised to send me one of their co-op's bumperstickers. It says, "Burn the Bean!"

- Lower emissions of sulfur, carbon monoxide, particulates, and hydrocarbons and decreased ozone (smog) forming potential.

- Improved engine cleanliness and improved gas mileage. Because the solvency of biodiesel is greater than that of petroleum diesel, it will actually clean your engine up over time, reducing soot formation and giving you a cleaner running & more efficient engine.

- Reduced diesel odors if high percentage blends or B100 are used. Some people report that cars burning 100% biodiesel made from restaurant oils & greases actually smell like french fries!

In the town where I live, they have received a grant to convert their fleet, in part, over to B20. They expect to use 125,000 gallons over the next three years. Read more here.

You can even make your own biodiesel! Many people are making their own from free grease and oil from local restaurants and cafeterias.

Want more information? Check out this fact sheet or go to the biodiesel.org website. They have a great monthly newsletter you can subscribe to for free called the Biodiesel Bulletin.

You can find biodiesel suppliers in your area using this interactive map.

My own personal experience so far is that I haven't noticed much difference. My gas mileage is still excellent and the car has at least as much power as before. I have noticed that the exhaust has less of the typical "diesel smell" and there's less of the puff of blue smoke that I normally see when I first start my engine when it's cold. The best part is that I'm reducing my overall consumption of petroleum-based fuel by 20%.

In addition to changing to biodiesel, I have been driving slower lately to save gas. By driving 65 rather than 75 on my 40-mile morning commute, I have gone from 43 mpg to 48 mpg. In the warmer months when I'm not running the heater, I can get almost 650 miles out of one 14-gallon tank of gas. Added to savings I'm achieving by using biodiesel, the result is that I'm actually using nearly a third less petroleum than before. If a significant number of drivers were able to do that, think of the effect it would have in our country. We'd be reducing our dependence on foreign sources of oil and it wouldn't take drilling for oil in sensitive environments or new federal fuel-economy laws to make it happen. Now that is something to get excited about!