Running a car on veggie oil?

Question

Is it possible? is it legal? And would it be better for the environment?

Answer 1

Yes, it's possible -- if it's a Diesel engine.  (Rudolph Diesel actually designed the compression-ignition engine specifically to power agricultural machinery using vegetable oil.)  

It's completely legal.  You may have to pay excise duty if you are manufacturing more than a certain amount, but in practice you're unlikely to meet the threshhold unless you're running a fleet of taxis.  You can get the relevant forms from a main post office, or from HMRC directly.

Also note that any use of biodiesel in non-roadgoing applications  (central heating, generators, tractors, construction equipment &c.)  does NOT require payment of duty to HMRC.  This is ONLY required for vehicles driven on the Queen's Highway.

HMRC reserve the right to inspect your production site, and will act as though it's your business to prove you aren't doing anything naughty rather than their business to prove you are; so don't tell too many porkies on the forms.

And it would certainly be better for the environment.  The carbon in plants originally came from CO2 in the atmosphere; when the plant matter is burned, you get exactly the same amount of CO2 back  (all the original carbon atoms are now bonded to different oxygen atoms.)  Furthermore, since the vegetarian brigade took over, restaurants and takeaways have vast quantities of used vegetable oil which they have to pay someone to dispose of for them.  (Animal fat was a technically superior product, from a caterer's point of view:  it can be used for more fryings before it discolours, and doesn't transfer flavours from one food to another.  It also can be made into biodiesel, but you have to mix it in with enough vegetable oil to prevent it from solidifying.)

If you have an engine with a mechanical fuel pump  (old Peugeot engines are ideal -- Ford used to use the same engines, try a back-wheel-drive Sierra)  you can just filter the oil straight into the tank.  Old Land Rovers also will run happily on filtered vegetable oil.  Note that you might have to replace some rubber seals in the fuel line, as vegetable oil rots them more quickly than mineral oil.  Biodiesel specialists will supply a range of upgraded seals in synthetic rubber, which will last much longer.

Electronically-controlled engines will require you to do some chemical processing on the oil, but the chemicals you are going to be using aren't anything like as bad as the fossil fuels you are *not* going to be using!  The finished product will have combustion properties identical to dinosaur Diesel fuel.

Do a search for "biodiesel" on the Internet and in your local library.  There will be an up-front investment if you're planning to make biodiesel, but ultimately there's no good reason not to.

Answer 2

Great L Doesn't Know What He's Talking About. Fifth Gear Bought An Old Diesel Mercedes Last Year And Ran It On Used Veggie Oil. A Refined Version With Additives Is Called Bio Diesel, I'm Not Sure Exactly What They Do To It Of How Available It Is But If You Google Search There Are Probably Loads Of References. There Is Also Bio Ethanol For Use In Petrol Engined Cars.

I hope You Find The Information You Are Looking For And That My Answer Has Been Some Help.

Have A Gooday Darl.

Answer 3

Yesd It Is Posible But Is Ilegal Its Against The Law Of One Reason Its Becouse You Arnt Payin Tax For The Patral

Answer 4

It is possible but only for diesel cars, it's not legal and is bad for the engine of your car.

Answer 5

The questioner is posting from the UK as I have my YA set up to show only UK questions!

Desil cars, yes it's possible to run on a mix of desil and clean food oil, and it is legal here in the UK for consumption up to a certain amount*.  You can't run a car on plain food oil though, it must be a mixture of normal desil and food oil.

As to whether it is more envoronmentally friendly- Waste oil definately is becuase you're using something that would just be flushed away.  Clean oil is low on carbon (due to the carbon taken in in the growing of it) but the increased demand for vegetable oil causes unscrupulous people to do environmentally unfriendly things in order to produce the extra crops needed.

You have to do a little bit of paperwork though- I'm not clear on how that works.

You can get kits to make bio desil from used vegetable oil, and providing you have records to show you haven't exceded the limit* you are OK.  If you make any more, you can pay the tax and it is still legal and still cheaper than desil from the pump.

Edit:

*See Tim C Below

Answer 6

the idea of running the car on veggie oil is better for the environmentas far as the pollution expelled from the vehicle.  And in order for it to be better for the environment you would have to use only used oil from restaurants. Buying new veggie oil would be more expensive and cause more harm to the environment t based on gas for delivery, fertilizer, etc

Answer 7

Bio Diesel, Yes but not plain vegetable oil, for bio diesel they use rape seed oil.

My boyfriend is a farmer =]

Answer 8

depends on where in the world you are.

in USA is is not only legal, but encouraged, and biodiesel conversions (to diesel cars) are relatively cheap ($700)

you can run the car on old chip fat, if you wish

It is better for the environment in one way...... it causes less pollutants.

there are concerns over the energy spent refining the fuel and the amount of land use which is given over to growing the crops for biodiesel

Answer 9

your talking about a diesel engine.  A regular gas engine will not work on gas.  

You can use bio diesel in most cars with little or no modification.

If you want to use veggie oil you really should make some simple modifications like preheating the oil so it burns more efficiently.

It is fine, I believe oil from algae will be a very important future fuel.  

But again this is only diesel engines.  Diesel engines are hard to get in America because of NOx emissions.  

In the long run Oil or biodiesel and diesel engines are the best possible future fuel.  Gasoline and Diesel have many more VOC and of course increase COx and SOx levels.  Ethanol will cause extra farming and use up fresh water,  more fertilizers and lead to more erosion.  It can not be efficiently shipped in current fuel lines.  It is not very stable and absorbs water over time.  Also it takes almost enough energy to grow, pick, transport and create the alcohol then the fuel itself.  Cellulostic ethanol is better but not much.  

Oil from algae can be grown in many environmentally friendly and healthy places.  It is very stable and have little or no side affects.  

Diesel engines and EV are the future.

Answer 10

you would need special car parts, not every car can run on it, it isnt illegal, my friends are renting a van to take on tour with their band to a few states

Answer 11

yes, no, yes. cars can be converted to run on it, or in a diesel car you can put it straight in - lots of people mix it with a small amount of diesel as it runs better that way. it doesnt have to be rapeseeed or any particular oil -  some people use the cheapest catering oil they can find. it is better for the environment then regular fuels - but stinks to high heaven, its totally obvious cause your car emits the smell of a chip shop from its exhaust! so beware, cos it is illegal as you havent paid tax on it

Answer 12

Well i know a h**l of a lot of people who are putting it in their diesel engines!

Legally you have to declare and pay the tax to the government.

You can make your own, plenty of websites about it, from recycled chipfat oil.

Buses were being run on it in Reading at least 10 years ago.

I believe you have to be careful if making your own that you get the right acidity levels so that you dont rust or rot your engine.

I know a person in Glastonbury, Somerset, Uk, who makes it and sells it.

And if it is reusing old oil yes of course its better for the environment.

We could never grow enough rape in this country to supply the needs of this coutry and monocultures are extremely bad for the ecosystem and rape is not a nice plant- many people have allergies to it.

Answer 13

It isn't better for the environment. The amount of fresh produce that would have to be grown to make biofuels is huge!!! and I've read many times that it would probably comsume more fossil fuels in the production (growing the produce and producing the fuel) than you would actually get from the final product. It's a great idea, but just not feasable.

I recently read a definition of agriculture : the conversion of fossil fuels to edible produce. Its a very fossil-fuel heavy industry

Answer 14

I don't know  about waste oils from  fast food restaurants etc but bio-fuels from dedicated crops is causing concern for environmental reasons

Answer 15

There are so many myths associated with this, it's untrue..

Rudolf Diesel designed his engine specifically to run on peanut oil, but most diesel engines will work quite happily on a weak blend of veg oil and mineral diesel fuel.

My 1994 Citroen ZX 1.9 Diesel has been converted to run on 100% veg oil. I run it on USED vegetable oil from an Indian restaurant which I filter through denim before I put it in the tank. If I have a temporary blip in supply of used oil, I buy the cheapest cooking oil available from a supermarket. My car has not experienced any problems in running on veg oil. I know a lot of people who mix veg oil and diesel fuel 50/50 for unconverted engines without any problems. But some types of diesel engine are more suitable than others. for running veg oil.

Depending upon the design of the engine, modification may be necessary to “thin” straight vegetable oil; this is usually done by adding heating to the fuel lines as vegetable oil is thick when cold. Other modifications may include the installation of more robust glow plugs, a second tank for diesel fuel or biodiesel to aid starting in cold weather and modification to the fuel injectors. There is very little research available as to the effect of running a diesel engine on vegetable oil, but the experience of those who have tried it varies depending upon engine type. Many have gone for thousands of miles without modification, while others have suffered breakdowns after only hundreds of miles. Sometimes only minor engine differences can be vital. Experience indicates that the Peugeot/Citroen 1.9XUD or TXUD as found in Citroen BX, ZX and Xantia models and Peugeot 309/306/405/406 is eminently suitable to run vegetable oil PROVIDED it has a Bosch fuel pump and NOT a Lucas fuel pump. Likewise the VW 1.9 Diesel, found in many VW, Seat and Skoda models are suitable for running on vegetable oil. Engine modification can be undertaken personally, or, if like me, you’re a mechanical moron, get a mechanic to do it. There are few specialist garages around in the UK, but one I have found is at http://www.dieselveg.com.

And before anyone says, veg oil is classed as biofuel, so you don't have to pay duty on it provided you use less than 2,500 litres per year.

The alternative to modifying a diesel engine to run on vegetable oil, is to modify the oil to make it suitable for all diesel engines by the process of transesterification. To get the process right though, is time consuming and involves the use of some hazardous substances such as Methanol or Ethanol (highly flammable) which replaces the glycerides in vegetable oil using a catalyst such as Potassium Hydroxide (highly corrosive to organic substances, like skin).

Answer 16

Yes but not straight and can only be used in a diesel engine.  Check with your state for legal issues, there might be tax involved.  Recycle is good so yes its better for our planet.

Answer 17

I have been running my car on nut cutlets, yoghurt and rhubarb salad for many years. I recycle its waste as either compost or it goes into my biomass generator to heat my house which is made from recycled egg-boxes (free-range).

The cars tyres are made from recycled sandals and the bodywork is made from reinforced and recycled Eco Magazines. The car is assisted up hills with the assistance of two or more of my extended family or 'wifelets' who also take it in turns to rotate the manual wind turbine on its roof.

Answer 18

It may be possible. I don't know if it is legal or better for the environment. See the source.

Answer 19

It is possible but illegal and I'm not sure about the environment a taxi driver mate says you don't need to make many changes if any to your car

Answer 20

don't worry about it.  four dollars a gallon isn't that bad.  if you think I'm wrong, try walking.   liberalism is a mental disorder....    it's ok, breath, the sky isn't falling....