Vegetable oil fuel

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Contents

1 History

2 Application and usability

o 2.1 Modified fuel systems
o 2.2 Unmodified indirect
injection engines
o 2.3 Vegetable oil blending
o 2.4 Home heating

2.4.1 Combined heat and

power

3 Properties
o 3.1 Material compatibility
o 3.2 Temperature effects

Waste vegetable oil which has been filtered.

Vegetable oil can be used as an alternative fuel
in diesel engines and in heating oil burners.
When vegetable oil is used directly as a fuel, in
either modified or unmodified equipment, it is
referred to as straight vegetable oil (SVO) or
pure plant oil (PPO). Conventional diesel
engines can be modified to help ensure that the
viscosity of the vegetable oil is low enough to
allow proper atomization of the fuel. This
prevents incomplete combustion, which would
damage the engine by causing a build-up of
carbon. Straight vegetable oil can also be
blended with conventional diesel or processed
into biodiesel or bioliquids for use under a
wider range of conditions.

4 Availability
o 4.1 Recycled vegetable oil
o 4.2 Virgin vegetable oil

5 Legal implications
o 5.1 Taxation of fuel

6 See also

7 References

8 External links

History

biodiesel as an option that did not require

extensive vehicle modification.

Application and usability

Modified fuel systems
Most diesel car engines are suitable for the use
of straight vegetable oil (SVO), also commonly
called pure plant oil (PPO), with certain
modifications. Principally, the viscosity and
Rudolf Diesel
surface tension of the SVO/PPO must be
reduced by preheating it, typically by using
Rudolf Diesel was the father of the engine
waste heat from the engine or electricity,
which bears his name. His first attempts were
otherwise poor atomization, incomplete
to design an engine to run on coal dust, but
combustion and carbonization may result. One
later designed his engine to run on vegetable
common solution is to add a heat exchanger
oil. The idea, he hoped, would make his
and an additional fuel tank for the petrodiesel
engines more attractive to farmers having a
or biodiesel blend and to switch between this
source of fuel readily available. In a 1912
additional tank and the main tank of SVO/PPO.
presentation to the British Institute of
The engine is started on diesel, switched over
Mechanical Engineers, he cited a number of
to vegetable oil as soon as it is warmed up and
efforts in this area and remarked, "The fact that switched back to diesel shortly before being
fat oils from vegetable sources can be used
switched off to ensure that no vegetable oil
may seem insignificant today, but such oils
remains in the engine or fuel lines when it is
may perhaps become in course of time of the
started from cold again. In colder climates it is
same importance as some natural mineral oils
often necessary to heat the vegetable oil fuel
and the tar products are now."[1]
lines and tank as it can become very viscous
and even solidify.
Periodic petroleum shortages spurred research
into vegetable oil as a diesel substitute during
Single tank conversions have been developed,
the 1930s and 1940s, and again in the 1970s
largely in Germany, which have been used
and early 1980s when straight vegetable oil
throughout Europe. These conversions are
enjoyed its highest level of scientific interest.
designed to provide reliable operation with
The 1970s also saw the formation of the first
rapeseed oil that meets the German rapeseed
commercial enterprise to allow consumers to
oil fuel standard DIN 51605. Modifications to
run straight vegetable oil in their automobiles, the engines cold start regime assist combustion
Elsbett of Germany. In the 1990s Bougainville on start up and during the engine warm up
conflict, islanders cut off from oil supplies due phase. Suitably modified indirect injection
to a blockade used coconut oil to fuel their
(IDI) engines have proven to be operable with
vehicles.[2]
100% PPO down to temperatures of 10 C
(14 F). Direct injection (DI) engines generally
Academic research into straight vegetable oil
have to be preheated with a block heater or
fell off sharply in the 1980s with falling
diesel fired heater. The exception is the VW
petroleum prices and greater interest in
Tdi (Turbocharged Direct Injection) engine for
which a number of German companies offer

single tank conversions. For long term

durability it has been found necessary to
increase the oil change frequency and to pay
increased attention to engine maintenance.

With often minimal modification, most

residential furnaces and boilers that are
designed to burn No. 2 heating oil can be made
to burn either biodiesel or filtered, preheated
waste vegetable oil (WVO). If cleaned at home
by the consumer, WVO can result in
Unmodified indirect injection engines
considerable savings. Many restaurants will
receive a minimal amount for their used
Many cars powered by indirect injection
engines supplied by in-line injection pumps, or cooking oil, and processing to biodiesel is
mechanical Bosch injection pumps are capable fairly simple and inexpensive. Burning filtered
of running on pure SVO/PPO in all but winter WVO directly is somewhat more problematic,
temperatures. Indirect injection Mercedes-Benz since it is much more viscous; nonetheless, its
burning can be accomplished with suitable
vehicles with in-line injection pumps and cars
featuring the PSA XUD engine tend to perform preheating. WVO can thus be an economical
reasonably, especially as the latter is normally heating option for those with the necessary
mechanical and experimental aptitude.
equipped with a coolant heated fuel filter.
Engine reliability would depend on the
Combined heat and power
condition of the engine. Attention to
maintenance of the engine, particularly of the
A number of companies offer compressed
fuel injectors, cooling system and glow plugs
ignition engine generators optimized to run on
will help to provide longevity. Ideally the
[3]
plant oils where the waste engine heat is
engine would be converted.
recovered for heating.

Vegetable oil blending

The relatively high kinematic viscosity of
vegetable oils must be reduced to make them
compatible with conventional compressionignition engines and fuel systems. Cosolvent
blending is a low-cost and easy-to-adapt
technology that reduces viscosity by diluting
the vegetable oil with a low-molecular-weight
solvent.[4] This blending, or "cutting", has been
done with diesel fuel, kerosene, and gasoline,
amongst others; however, opinions vary as to
the efficacy of this. Noted problems include
higher rates of wear and failure in fuel pumps
and piston rings when using blends.[3]

Properties
The main form of SVO/PPO used in the UK is
rapeseed oil (also known as canola oil,
primarily in the United States and Canada)
which has a freezing point of 10 C (14 F).
[citation needed]
However the use of sunflower oil,
which gels at around 12 C (10 F),[6] is
currently being investigated as a means of
improving cold weather starting. Unfortunately
oils with lower gelling points tend to be less
saturated (leading to a higher iodine number)
and polymerize more easily in the presence of
atmospheric oxygen.

Home heating

Material compatibility

Main article: Bioliquids

Polymerization also has been consequentially

linked to catastrophic component failures such
as injection pump shaft seizure and breakage,
injector tip failure leading to various and/or
combustion chamber components damaged.

When liquid fuels made from biomass are used

for energy purposes other than transport, they
are called bioliquids.[5]

Most metallurgical problems such as corrosion

and electrolysis are related to water based
contamination or poor choices of plumbing
(such as copper or Zinc) which can cause
gelling- even with petroleum based fuels.

could be offset.[8] Use of used vegetable oil as a

direct fuel competes with some other uses of
the commodity, which has effects on its price
as a fuel and increases its cost as an input to the
other uses as well.

Temperature effects

Virgin vegetable oil

Some Pacific island nations are using coconut

oil as fuel to reduce their expenses and their
dependence on imported fuels while helping
stabilize the coconut oil market. Coconut oil is
only usable where temperatures do not drop
below 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees
Fahrenheit), unless two-tank SVO/PPO kits or
other tank-heating accessories, etc. are used.
Fortunately, the same techniques developed to
use, for example, canola and other oils in cold
climates can be implemented to make coconut
oil usable in temperatures lower than 17
degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit)

Virgin vegetable oil, also termed pure plant oil

or straight vegetable oil, is extracted from
plants solely for use as fuel. In contrast to used
vegetable oil, is not a byproduct of other
industries, and thus its prospects for use as fuel
are not limited by the capacities of other
industries.[citation needed] Production of vegetable
oils for use as fuels is theoretically limited only
by the agricultural capacity of a given
economy. However, doing so detracts from the
supply of other uses of pure vegetable oil.

Availability
Recycled vegetable oil

Legal implications
Taxation of fuel

Taxation on SVO/PPO as a road fuel varies

from country to country, and it is possible the
Main article: Yellow grease
revenue departments in many countries are
even unaware of its use, or feel it too
insignificant to legislate. Germany used to have
Recycled vegetable oil, also termed used
0% taxation, resulting in it being a leader in
vegetable oil (UVO), waste vegetable oil
[7]
most developments of the fuel use. However
(WVO), used cooking oil (UCO), or yellow
grease (in commodities exchange), is recovered SVO/PPO as a road fuel began to be taxed at
0,09 /liter from 1 January 2008 in Germany,
from businesses and industry that use the oil
with incremental rises up to 0,45 /liter by
for cooking.
2012. However, in Australia it has become
As of 2000, the United States was producing in illegal to produce any fuel if it is to be sold
unless a license to do so is granted by the
excess of 11 billion liters (2.9 billion U.S.
federal government. This is a chargeable
gallons) of recycled vegetable oil annually,
offense with a fine of up to 20,000 dollars but
mainly from industrial deep fryers in potato
processing plants, snack food factories and fast this bracket may alter circumstantially. Also a
jail term may result if offenders are aware of
food restaurants. If all those 11 billion liters
the illegality of selling the fuel.
could be recycled and used to replace the
energy equivalent amount of petroleum (an
ideal case), almost 1% of US oil consumption