Just What Exactly Is Bio Diesel?

Lots of people are unaware that Bio diesel even exists. This article is intended to shed a little light on Bio diesel and what a wonderful, non toxic, renewable fuel it is.

Natural materials are used to make Bio diesel fuel instead of the fossil fuels used to make conventional diesel. Bio diesel fuel is most often made from plant oils, then used in a normal diesel vehicle or machinery. Bio diesel fuel can be used on its own, or mixed with conventional diesel.

Here are some common facts about Biodiesel fuel:

* Bio diesel fuel produces no carbon dioxide
* Biodiesel fuel produces no carbon monoxide emissions
* Biodiesel fuel produces no benzene
* Bio diesel fuel produces no sulfur dioxide
* Bio diesel fuel produces no hydrocarbons
* Bio diesel fuel eliminates visible smoke
* Bio diesel fuel cleans and lubricates your engine
* Bio diesel fuel exhaust smells like popcorn.

Just what are the benefits of using biodiesel fuel?

1) Making your own biodiesel fuel reduces our dependence on fossil fuels.

2) Biodiesel fuel is cheap to make and the money stays in the country.

3) Biodiesel fuel is both renewable and non-toxic. It is even possible to drink biodiesel, though not recommended, as it tastes terrible!

4) Bio diesel fuel is basically carbon-neutral. Bio diesel fuel reduces the usual noxious emissions such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide that we're used to from conventional vehicles.

5) Biodiesel fuel will also reduces engine wear by lubricating it. You can also blend biodiesel with ordinary diesel, even as little 2% bio diesel will make a difference. Bio diesel also flushes your fuel injectors and lines.

6) By running a vehicle on bio diesel fuel you will produce a smoother and quieter ride, and your car will have cleaner exhaust fumes.

So what are some of the down sides of using Biodiesel fuel?

1) If you want to run your vehicle on bio diesel fuel you will most likely have to make it yourself.

2) The fact that bio diesel fuel will clean your fuel injectors and lines, means that you should expect your first few tanks to flush out some dirt and grime. You may also have to replace your fuel lines if your car is older than fifteen years.

3) Biodiesel fuel might not produce toxic emissions, but it does produce NOx which may contribute to smog.

Alternative Fuels For Your Car by Laura Eggers Underhill

So many different types of alternative fuels are being developed, that it’s a very exciting time, somewhat like it must have been when the many varieties of crude cameras were being developed in the 19th century.

The primary goal is to produce fewer emissions, which not only are harmful to the air we breathe, but are also screwing up the planet in general. Another major goal is to reduce our dependence on oil, which is rapidly being depleted, partially resulting in unfathomable price hikes. Plus, the less we are dependent on foreign sources of oil, the better, for painfully obvious reasons.

In addition to hybrid cars, which use a combination of a gasoline engine with an electric motor powered by a battery, there are also flex-fuel vehicles, bi-fuel vehicles and converted vehicles which all allow you to use some form of alternative fuel, either alone or in combination with gasoline or diesel. Even plug-in electric hybrids are being developed which can use gasoline mixed with other fuels as a back-up source to electricity.

Types of alternative fuels used in cars include electricity, biodiesel, natural gas (methane), ethanol, methanol (wood alcohol), propane, hydrogen gas, and p-series fuels.

Biodiesel can be combined with petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is made from animal fats or vegetable oil, so we can produce it right here in the United States. It burns cleaner than pure diesel.

Electricity can come from fuel cells or a battery, and can be combined with gasoline for the most common hybrid car. There are all-electric cars, plug-in hybrids (which can acquire electricity from an outlet in your garage), or fuel cell cars.

Ethanol, otherwise known as E85, is usually combined with regular gasoline in various percentages. This is alcohol based and made from biomass or grains, such as wheat or corn. Since we can easily produce that, it frees us from foreign dependence on oil. It also burns cleaner. Flex-fuel vehicles that use 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline are already out there on the roads in several models.

Methanol was being combined with gasoline, but may be used in fuel-cell cars in the future. It comes from coal.

Natural gas, or methane, can power certain cars, which can run on either natural gas or gasoline, depending on what is available. It can be gotten from landfills, natural gas fields, or as a byproduct of oil drilling or coal mining. It must be compressed or liquefied to use in an automobile. It is possible to have bi-fuel vehicles, which run on regular gasoline or natural gas.

P-Series fuels are clear and can be used alone or combined with gasoline.

Hydrogen as fuel for cars is still in development. Hydrogen comes from water, which is still plentiful on this earth. It can be harnessed from petroleum refining in the form of natural gas, or it can come from running electricity through water. It must be converted to liquid or highly compressed to store it in the car, so it looks like it will be used mainly to power fuel cells in electric vehicles. It can also be mixed with natural gas for certain engines.

We usually think of propane as a fuel for camping lanterns and stoves, but it can also be used to power a car. It is a byproduct of natural gas and crude oil refining.

The more that these alternative fuels are used, the more that standard gasoline vehicles will stand out for their foul, smelly exhaust, until it will become positively embarrassing, (not to mention prohibitively expensive), to continue driving around harming the environment with one. Let’s hope that time comes soon.

About the Author

Laura Eggers Underhill writes for http://www.totally-hybrid-cars.com, a site for learning about the various hybrid cars available.

Ever hear of converting your car to run on water and gas? To find out what all the excitement is about, Click Here!

Biodiesel-fuel for the 21st Century by Fei Lim

n this new age where fuel is the most precious commodity available, it is time that mankind turned to a more efficient, safer, cleaner, renewable fuel for use in our massively transportation dependent society. The answer to a century of wars over oil and the horrendous aftermath thereof are simply, in one word - biodiesel. Biodiesel has been around for over a century, but only recently has the world awakened to a need for fuels at any cost that will not destroy our already fragile ecosystem, and you will soon know why the whole world should be excited.

Biodiesel was first synthesized back in 1893 before the first diesel engine was even developed. Biodiesel is essentially oil of any type-be it animal fat or vegetable oil that has been reacted with an alcohol in a process called transesterification. The chemical name of the results of this reaction is mono-alkyl ester or biodiesel, and glycerol-common glycerin. Biodiesel can be used as an alternative to petrodiesel in more applications than you may think.

Biodiesel has some very interesting properties. While not as energy dense as common petroleum diesel, it is a much cleaner fuel with lower sulfur, and it burns cleaner leaving the atmosphere less harmed. Biodiesel even cleans engines which have been run on petroleum diesel from the inside, dissolving deposits of gunk and particulates that originated in typical petroleum fuel. Biodiesel's main lure is the fact that in theory we could supply the world's energy needs from one safe clean alternative fuel that is 100% renewable.

As for applications, biodiesel can be utilized in most locomotives that you are already aware of, with little or no changes to the engine. This means that if you have a vehicle that runs presently on diesel-be it a sport utility vehicle, station wagon, car, or tractor trailer truck-it can run on biodiesel with only one step. That step is filling the tank! This is the primary reason why biodiesel could revolutionize the fuel industry. With biodiesel, there is no need to upgrade our present fleets of trucks, cars, trains, vans, and boats that run on diesel into prohibitively expensive solar powered vehicles; we can simply pull them into a gas station that offers biodiesel and fuel up. It is true that any engine built for diesel can run on biodiesel, the only issue that could come up is with engines that were built before 1992. Many of these engines have rubber parts that would slowly be dissolved by biodiesel. But the modifications required can be done in a few minutes by any mechanic. Also, other than transportation most diesel generators as well as heaters can be run on biodiesel without modifications. This means that we can generate electricity using this exciting new renewable fuel. There was even a test flight in early 2008 of a jumbo jet run only on biodiesel. The potential of biodiesel to revolutionize our energy industry is enormous, not to mention the economic opportunities for farming nations that depend on the agricultural industry to survive. Many of these nations have begun to plant many acres of oil rich crops that are then sold to make biodiesel all over the world. The real opportunity for biodiesel to save our energy dependent society lies in algae. Algae has proven to be capable of a higher yield per acre of biodiesel convertible oil than any other plant. With time and effective engineering of an efficient algae farming method, we will be able to utilize the solar energy more efficiently than ever, and we will easily be able to answer the worlds energy needs with biodiesel.

You know a bit more than you did about biodiesel. Biodiesel may not be the holy grail of energy sources, but it comes pretty close in these times of oil wars and a rapidly depleted ozone layer. Perhaps you should look into biodiesel as your personal alternative fuel today. The more informed we are as a society, the brighter the future may be for our children. Biodiesel is not the fuel of tomorrow, I dare to say it is the fuel of today. Cleaner, renewable, convenient, and available; biodiesel may be a turning point in the world's energy resources.

About the Author

Find used cars, fast cars, and hybrid cars at VehicleRide.com.

Biofuel Renewable Energy Resource by Fabricio

Biofuels are moving fuels like ethanol and biodiesel is a diesel that is finished from biomass resources. These fuels are generally merged with the petroleum fuels - gasoline and diesel fuel. They can also be used individually as well. Using ethanol or biodiesel facilitates lesser burning than fossil fuel. However, ethanol and biodiesel are unfortunately, more expensive than the fossil fuels. Nevertheless, they are uncontaminated fuels, producing smaller quantity of air pollutants and are safer and greener to the environment.

Ethanol is an alcoholic fuel prepared from the sugars found in grains, such as corn, sorghum, and wheat, along with potato skins, rice, sugarcane, sugar beets, and yard clippings. Biodiesel is prepared from vegetable oils, fats, or greases. Biodiesel fuels can be used in diesel engines not including any changes in them. It is the best ever budding substitute petroleum in countries such as United States. Biodiesel is a renewable source of energy and thus is safe, recyclable, and decreases the release of the majority air toxins. It is no doubt an eco-friendly version of diesel.

It is frequently asserted that biofuels are carbon-neutral as they release CO2 when burnt that was previously present in the atmosphere. There is a considerable CO2 discharge from the refinery and distillery processes required to make biodiesel or bioethanol, as well as for transport, the use of ranch machinery, and manure production. Biodiesel, in particular, is connected to high releases of the powerful and long-term greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, released by microbes when nitrogen fertilizers are applied to soils, and also throughout the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizers.

There are two main types of biofuels for transport:

Bioethanol, which is an alcohol derivative of sugar or starch, for example from sugar beet, cane or from corn, and

Biodiesel, derivative of vegetable oils, for example from rapeseed oil, jatropha, soy or palm oil.

United States is the world's biggest bioethanol manufacturer, and this books for 99% of their biofuel for road transport. The region is, as of yet, the world's chief biodiesel creator, and prefer biodiesel than bioethanol. It is discovered that ethanol has preferably less greenhouse gas releases than petrol.

Among the biofuel crops grown in Europe and the US, biodiesel is usually measured to be more energy competent than bioethanol. A few biodiesel crops, such as oilseed rape are developed with huge magnitude of fertilizers, which compensate for a lot of the greenhouse gas reserves.

To learn much more about the different types of renewable energy sources, visit http://renewable-energy-sources-info.blogspot.com/ where you'll find this and mucho more, including biodiesel, biofuel, Bioethanol, biomass,geothermal and many more renewable energy sources

About the Author

Currently caught in a fight in trying to expose alternative and clean enegy resources to the citizens of my local town. This passionate fight leads me to be found either writing small pieces of articles on the local neighborhood magazine to aware citizens of responsibilities and actions that can be taken or trying to write articles online to aware the world about their responsibilities in this matter.