How hard/costly is it to convert a diesel engine to biodiesel? Over 2 yrs. is diesel or gas a better option?

Question

Brother is trying to decide between purchasing a diesel or a gas car.

Answer 1

Bio-diesel is (virtually) free.  I know of many

guys that collect restaurant oils, refine them

and use them in their diesel cars and trucks.

A factory diesel cannot burn bio-diesel tho.

Some changes need to be made, but I hear

it's not hard to do.

Answer 2

Biodiesel refers to a non-petroleum-based diesel fuel consisting of short chain alkyl (methyl or ethyl) esters, made by transesterification of vegetable oil, which can be used (alone, or blended with conventional petrodiesel) in unmodified diesel-engine vehicles. Biodiesel is distinguished from the straight vegetable oil (SVO) (aka "waste vegetable oil", "WVO", "used vegetable oil", "UVO", "unwashed biodiesel", "pure plant oil", "PPO") used (alone, or blended) as fuels in some converted diesel vehicles. "Biodiesel" is standardized as mono-alkyl ester and other kinds of diesel-grade fuels of biological origin are not included.[1]

Biodiesel can be obtained from vegetable oil (vegidiesel/vegifuel), or animal fats (bio-lipids), using transesterification. Biodiesel is a non-fossil fuel alternative to petrodiesel. It can also be mixed with petrodiesel in any amount in modern engines, though when first using it, the solvent properties of the fuel tend to dissolve accumulated deposits and can clog fuel filters.[citation needed] Biodiesel has a higher gel point than petrodiesel, but is comparable to diesel. This can be overcome by using a biodiesel/petrodiesel blend, or by installing a fuel heater, but this is only necessary during the colder months. A diesel-biodiesel mix results in lower emissions than either can achieve alone,[13] except for NOx emissions. A small fraction of biodiesel can be used as an additive in low-sulfur formulations of diesel to increase the lubricity lost when the sulfur is removed. In the event of fuel spills, biodiesel is easily washed away with ordinary water and is nontoxic compared to other fuels.

Biodiesel can be produced using kits. Certain kits allow for processing of used vegetable oil that can be run through any conventional diesel motor with modifications. The modification needed is the replacement of fuel lines from the intake and motor and all affected rubber fittings in injection and feeding pumps a.s.o. This is because biodiesel is an effective solvent and will replace softeners within unsuitable rubber with itself over time. Synthetic gaskets for fittings and hoses prevent this.

Chemically, most biodiesel consists of alkyl (usually methyl) esters instead of the alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons of petroleum derived diesel. However, biodiesel has combustion properties very similar to petrodiesel, including combustion energy and cetane ratings. Paraffin biodiesel also exists. Due to the purity of the source, it has a higher quality than petrodiesel.

Answer 3

You don't need to convert a diesel engine to run bio-diesel. Any diesel engine is fine. However, you will need to change your fuel filter after around 1000 miles of first running bio-diesel, due to it's solvent properties.

As to which type of car to buy, that's trickier. I doubt that either vehicle, in the next 2 years, will show massive savings over the other. Bio-diesel will float just under the price of mineral diesel, and Bio-ethanol will float just below petrol. The main advantage of bio-diesel would be that engines tend to last longer, and behave more effeciently. The trade for this would be overall power/speed- If he wants a race-car, buy into bio-ethanol

Answer 4

There is nothing to convert if you are using biodiesel, biodiesel is a straight substitute for diesel. If you plan on use SVO (straight vegetable oil) then you will need to convert the engine maybe.

As far as which is cheaper, we need a lot more information, but you can figure it out yourself, first how many mileage are driven each year, what is the MPG of each car, then divide the MPG into the number of miles drive this will give you the number of gallon of fuel each car needs then multiply that number by the price of fuel and you can see if the price difference between gasoline engine and the diesel is worth it.