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| "The fact that fat oils from vegetable sources can be used may seem insignificant today, but such oils may perhaps become in course of time of the same importance as some natural mineral oils and the tar products are now.” Rudolph Diesel 1912 Inventor of the diesel engine |
As of 2000, the United States was producing in excess of 11 billion liters of waste vegetable oil annually, mainly from industrial deep fryers in potato processing plants, snack food factories and fast food restaurants. If all those 11 billion liters could be collected and used to replace the energetically equivalent amount of petroleum (a rather utopical case), almost 1% of US oil consumption could be offset |
Many of our customers utilize different fuels in their diesel engines. These fuels
include kerosene, jet fuels, bio-diesel and vegetable oil blends. Diesel Care and
Performance supports the use of these fuels and their development in our
domestic market. We support several organizations that are aggressively pursuing
these alternative fuels. We have also participated in the development of fuel
systems specifically designed for the use with Bio-diesel and/or vegetable oil.
Below are some frequently asked questions regarding alternative fuels:
I'm new to the diesel market, what is Bio-diesel?
Biodiesel is produced from any fat or oil such as soybean oil, through a refinery
process called transesterification. This process is a reaction of the oil with an
alcohol to remove the glycerin, which is a by-product of biodiesel production. Fuel-
grade biodiesel must be produced to strict industry specifications (ASTM D6751)
in order to insure proper performance. Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have
fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments. Biodiesel that meets ASTM D6751 and is legally registered with the
Environmental Protection Agency is a legal motor fuel for sale and distribution.
Does the use of these fuels void your warranty?
Some of these fuel are "home brewed" and do not adhere to any standards
regarding lubricity, cetane, or water content. Any failure that is attributed to the
use of fuel that is not to minimum standards is not covered under the warranty of
Diesel Care Inc.
Does your pumps/injectors contain gaskets and seals set up for Bio-
diesel?
Currently there are no standards regarding the use of bio-diesel as pertaining the
use of gasket/o-ring materials. Many people have suggested the use of Viton
material (Viton™ (Fluoro-elastomer), as a good material source for these gaskets.
The reason is that it is an excellent oil and air resistance both at low and high
temperatures. It also has very good chemical resistance. Diesel Care and
Performance currently build alls our injection components with all available Viton™
material. There are some systems that contain parts that are not available in this
material. There include special cut o-rings and some manufacturer specific seals.
In these instances we use the highest grade materials available to rebuild your fuel
system.
What about running raw vegetable oil?
Many vegetable oils have similar fuel properties to Diesel fuel, except for higher
viscosity and lower oxidative stability. If these differences can be overcome,
vegetable oil may substitute for #2 Diesel fuel, most signicantly as engine fuel or
home heating oil. For engines designed to burn #2 diesel fuel, the viscosity of
vegetable oil must be lowered to prevent poor atomization of fuel, incomplete
combustion, carbon buildup and ultimately damage to the engine. Many
enthusiasts refer to vegetable oil used as fuel as Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) if it
is oil that was discarded from a restaurant or Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) to
distinguish it from Biodiesel. Raw vegetable oil cannot meet biodiesel fuel
specifications. It is not registered with the EPA, and it is not a legal motor fuel.
| Biodiesel Discussion Groups: http://www.egroups.com/group/Biodiesel http://www.egroups.com/group/biofuel |
| Telephone 1-901-380-9290 |
| Diesel Care, helping you maximize your diesel fuel dollars |