Biodiesel
from vegetable oils
– alternate to fossil fuels.
Vegetable oils and their derivatives (especially methyl
esters), commonly referred to as “biodiesel” are prominent
candidates as alternative diesel fuels. They have advanced
from being purely experimental fuels to initial stages of
commercialization. They are technically competitive with
or offer technical advantages compared to conventional
diesel fuel.
Besides being a renewable and domestic resource, biodiesel
reduces most emissions while engine performance and fuel economy
are nearly identical compared to conventional fuels. Several
problems, however, remain, which include economics, combustion,
some emissions, lube oil contamination, and low-temperature
properties.
Pure Biodiesel is a clean burning fuel which runs in any
unmodified diesel engine. This fuel is an environmentally-friendly
alternative to the higher emission petroleum diesel used in
large transport vehicles and some cars and trucks.
Biodiesel is currently being manufactured at an industrial
scale by large companies but can also be made on a small scale
with simple technology. Diesel engines can also be run
on unmodified vegetable oil like jatropha curcas oil, if
the oil is heated or mixed with other fuels. Using waste
vegetable oil this can be an amazingly inexpensive
and ecological alternative fuel.
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