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• You must have a diesel engine to run vegetable oil or biodiesel in your vehicle
  
• Biodiesel is preprocessed for you, and requires no engine modification, but is currently more expensive than regular diesel fuel
  
• Vegetable oil requires modification to the vehicle, including two separate fuel tanks, a special filter, and a heater to heat the oil to a very high temperature so it will burn in the engine. However it is very inexpensive (often free) as a fuel source.
  
• Emissions are drastically reduced by using diesel instead of gasoline, and biodiesel further reduces all emissions, except Nitrous Oxide. However, starting in 2006 diesel engines will be required by Federal law to have catalytic converters on them, which then reduces NoX emissions.
  
• Biodiesel has on average 8% less energy per gallon than No. 2 Diesel fuel.
  
• Biodiesel is a better engine lubricant than petro diesel.
  
• Biodiesel degrades natural rubber that may be found in older model vehicle?s fuel lines. Viton, the industry standard since the 1990?s, is unaffected by it.
  
• Petro diesel gets cloudy and too thick to burn at temperatures as low as 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Biodiesel can cloud at 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the upper register of cloud points, normally it is lower. This means it is wise to mix with petro diesel or add anti-gel agent to your fuel at fill up if you are living in or traveling to cold climates. This product is available at most diesel fueling stations and at auto parts stores. You pour it in your tank as you fuel.
  
             So you want to ask me about my gas? I made a little mistake. I don't actually have gas. Gas, as you know, is short for gasoline. It is just one of many fuels. I should have said, "Ask me about my fuel". Because it is Biodiesel. Not a lot of people know what biodiesel is. You can't put biodiesel in your unleaded gasoline tank. That's for sure.
            
           A diesel engine is a little different from a gasoline powered engine. For one, there are no spark plugs in a diesel engine. A spark plug provides a spark of fire that ignites the gasoline inside an engine, causing controlled explosions that move the pistons and push one lever, cog and rod after another until finally your wheels are moving and you are down the road. Diesel won't catch on fire from a spark. It doesn't start burning until it is over three hundred degrees hot! So don't worry about your biodiesel vehicle exploding in a bad accident, unless you crash into a gasoline driven vehicle and the burning gasoline is flung all over you and your car, heating it beyond its flash point.
           
           Diesel engines use glow plugs instead of spark plugs. A glow plug sits on the engine right where you would find a spark plug, and it heats the diesel fuel (not gas!) with electricity from you car battery. Those of you who have driven a diesel car, know you turn the key in the ignition to one click before start, and wait for a little light on the dashboard to tell you it is okay to start the engine. The fuel has been preheated. So you start the car, and you are on the road.
           
            Gas burns more quickly, with less compression. That's the basic difference between gasoline and diesel engines. Enough of the engines, let's get back to my gas. Gasoline is made from petroleum. Also called oil. Oil is in underground deposits beneath foreign countries and very deep oceans. We also have some here in America, beneath a wildlife preserve in the Artic Circle of Alaska. None of these places are that easy to get to with giant oil drilling rigs, and all require great distances for the oil to be transported once it has been taken from the ground. But that is what we do. We're Americans and we make it happen.
            
           Gasoline is refined from the crude oil, and a by product of gasoline is diesel fuel. Diesel fuel is what those big trucks burn, and it smells bad and blows out the exhaust stacks in giant black clouds. It isn't pretty.
            
           Remember, I am talking about diesel made from oil right now. It turns out, the diesel engine can run on oils made from vegetables. How many of us here have ever started a kitchen fire by heating up corn oil too hot? I hope not many of us, but it can happen. Oil burns, whether it is from whale blubber, soybeans, or dead dinosaurs. Yes, gasoline is the by-product of ancient creatures called dinosaurs. Even if you don't believe in science!
           
           Here's another fact: the diesel engine was created by a man in 1895 named Dr. Rudolph Diesel, who intended this engine to be used by farmers who could grow their own fuel. He originally tested it with peanut oil. It turned out not to be necessary, because at the time gas was cheap and plentiful, and diesel, the dirty by-product, was even cheaper. So people, over the years, forgot that vegetable oils could be an alternative fuel. That leads us up to 2005, when gas is getting more and more expensive, and we are somehow constantly going over to the Middle East with our military for reasons of our national security.
          
             Energy is what makes a person and a country move, and movement is life. We need energy. Perhaps this can be the last time we travel to another country to protect our energy sources. It could happen if we become self sufficient and use renewable energy.
  People are anxious to be self sufficient. That is the old Yankee tradition that founded this country.
          
           So let's talk about biodiesel. It can be grown by American farmers. This is important. Remember ol' Willie Nelson and his Farm Aid tour that raised money for small farmers? Small farmers need new markets for their products, and biodiesel can be one of them. Once Willie was done with his IRS troubles, he got on the Biodiesel bandwagon, and is promoting his own blend of biodiesel and regular diesel, called BioWillie.
          
             This is a great time to make the point that you can "splash" mix bio and regular diesel in any ratio, right in your fuel tank. You don't have to worry about being stranded somewhere because you can't find a biodiesel pump. BioWillie is 20% Biodiesel and 80% petro-desiel. This is a common mixture used in Europe, where biodiesel has been popular for years. I can not answer the question, "Why 20-80 and not 100% pure biodiesel?" What seems to be the deal is government tests have only been performed on this blend. Engine performance and wear issues have not been quantified at ratio's higher than this, BY THE GOVERNMENT.
          
            I screamed just then, because you shouldn't wait for U.S. Government to decide if Biodiesel is safe or not. It is completely biodegradable and there is a mountain of evidence that shows engine life is improved by fueling with biodiesel. The fact is, starting in 2006, diesel sold in the U.S. will be low sulphur. So low in Sulphur it will be called "Ultra Low Sulpher Diesel".
          
            Current Federal standards allow up to 5oo parts per million sulphur emissions. ULSD will have no more than 15 ppm. Biodiesel is already there, baby.
              
            If you remember from the bulleted list that started this whole discussion, Diesel and Bio Diesel emit Nitrous xide, which contributes to smog and ozone depletion. NoX is created inside the engine of the vehicle when nitrogen in the air reacts in the high temperature of the cylinders. (Remember, Deisels run at higher temperatures and under higher compression than gasoline engines)           
          Catalytic converters are placed on gasoline powered vehicles to trap NoX. Because of the high sulphur content of petro diesel, catalytic converters weren't able to be used. But hot dog, in 2006, manufacturers can start putting catalytic converters on exhaust systems! That means the one downfall to diesel emissions will be corrected. But wait, there's more. ULSD reduces lubricity in the engine. That means more wear and tear on the insides. But stand back and add a little biodiesel to the mix, and viola, (wah-lah in French) lubricity is improved. Pump 100% biodiesel through your fuel lines, and lubricity is at levels above pre-ULSD. You can expect to start seeing more blending of the two for this reason.
          
          Here's an interesting aside about diesel fuel. It is also called home heating oil. The only difference between the two is that home heating oil is dyed red and taxed far less. Diesel at the pump was once always cheaper than gasoline, but now it is often more expensive than 87 unleaded. That is because of the high taxes placed on diesel by state local and federal governments who want to recoup road maintenance costs from heavy duty truckers. Trucks keep America moving, so my belt buckle says, and it's true. And taxes do too. My buckle doesn't mention that.
          
         Home heating oil, when burned, doesn't emit NoX because it is burning under less compression, and at a lower temperature. It does however, still emit sulpher, and the government regulations are much looser on emissions for heating oil. I'm talking about 5,000 parts per million allowed by federal law. Compare that with the new law for fuel sett at 15 ppm. If we were, as a nation, to burn biodiesel instead for heating oil, all that sulpher would be taken out of the equation.
           
         If you have never driven a diesel before, don't be afraid. It is wise to look in the yellow pages for a local diesel mechanic, since not every mechanic knows how to deal with them. But you get great mileage compared to gasoline, and engine life that is up to four times that of a gasoline engine. So go forward and save the world, one tank at a time!