what is it?Biodiesel is a biofuel – that is, a renewable source of energy made from plants. It is very much like diesel that is used in cars, buses and lorries, but instead of being drilled from under the ground it is made from plant oils such as peanut, sunflower or rape seed – in fact any plant oil can be made into biodiesel. It can be made perfectly well from waste cooking oil. Scientists who have tested biodiesel in vehicles have found it to be cleaner burning than normal diesel with only a very slight loss in range (how far a vehicle can go on a full tank) of 3-5%. No engine conversion is necessary, so you can use it in any vehicle with a diesel engine; either neat, or in a mix with mineral diesel. Biodiesel can also be used for generators, boats, or as a heating fuel.what are the benefits?LILI is only interested in biodiesel made from used cooking oil. We don't think it's a good idea to take up more land to grow crops for vehicles when there are so many people who don't have enough food, and there is so much pressure on natural habitats. Some companies are now producing biodiesel from palm oil grown in huge plantations in West Africa or SE Asia. We think that biodiesel from these sources is at least as environmentally damaging as mineral diesel, and probably more so. For more information on this, see Biofuel Watch. This of course means that we are not advocating a wholesale change to biodiesel for all the world's diesel vehicles, as there's nowhere near enough waste cooking oil. But it's something that can be done on a small scale, using a locally-produced waste product. Ultimately, we need to find ways to reduce our fuel use - more efficient vehicles, car sharing, cycling, public transport, working from home and holidaying without flying. climate
change: a major cause of global
warming is the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which
allow the short-wave radiation from the sun to pass through the
atmosphere, but absorb the long-wave radiation reflected back from
the earth, preventing the heat from escaping. The most important
greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), which
is emitted by the burning of fossil fuels such as petrol, diesel,
gas and coal. Burning biodiesel also emits CO2,
but this is offset by the fact that it comes from plants, and plants use CO2 from the atmosphere to grow. what can I do?You can buy biodiesel, or make it - either on your own, or you can club together with friends to buy or build a processor. We recommend using 100% biodiesel in the summer, and a 50:50 blend of biodiesel and mineral diesel in the winter. As biodiesel is a strong solvent, you need to change your fuel filter after the first 500-1000 miles after using biodiesel for the first time, as it could remove material from the walls of your fuel tank and deposit it in the fuel filter. This should only happen once though. buying biodiesel: biodiesel is not yet available
at most petrol stations; it can, however, be delivered
in IBCs. Also, see Biodiesel
Filling Stations for more places to buy biodiesel. You can buy a biodiesel processor or make your own. LILI run a course on building your own processor, including the wash stage. Here is a list of things to consider if you're thinking of building your own processor. resources
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participants on a LILI ‘how to make biodiesel’ course carry out a titration test to calculate how much catalyst to use to make biodiesel from this batch of waste cooking oil
biodiesel is a biofuel, made from plant oils, not fossil fuels. Biofuel crops absorb the carbon dioxide emitted when biofuels are burnt
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