by Ronnie Daniels

Created on: January 25, 2009

Diesel fuel is dangerous. Dirty,smelly stuff with a very large carbon foot print it's one of the leading causes of air pollution in America.i also happens to be an expensive fuel right now with an average price per gallon of around $3.00. Multiply that times the hundreds of gallons it takes to fuel up a diesel locomotive or semi truck and the amount is impressive.

Diesel fuel is also made from petroleum which the geologists tell us is rapidly running out. No more oil for diesel has the potential of crippling our economy in many ways. Distribution of vital goods like food and medicine would slow down or stop. This would cause chaos in our cities and shortages.

There has to be a better way. There is a better way. Right now bio diesel can be cheaply refined from renewable resources such as corn, soybeans, switch grass and flax. Recycled restaurant cooking oil is another cheap source of bio diesel. The rest of this article will explain why bio diesel is a much better alternative to diesel from petroleum sources.

What is bio diesel? How is it made and what should we know about any dangers of using it? Bio diesel is an alternative fuel made from plant materials. Here is how it can be made and why it's better.

First the plant matter is processed to remove the oil.It is this vegetable oil which is turned into fuel. You can even use left over cooking oil from restaurants to make bio diesel. This results in vehicle exhaust which smells like french fries.

The process which converts vegetable oil into fuel is called ester interchange. Vegetable oil is mixed with a small amount of an alcohol, usually methanol, and an alkaline catalytic ingredient such as sodium hydroxide. Vegetable oil is made up of triglycerides, which is a compound of the trivalent alcohol glycerin with three fatty acids.

In order to make the bio-diesel you have to separate the glycerin molecule out and replace it with three methanol molecules. When this is accomplished the result is a mixture that is 10% glycerin, which has many uses in industry, and 90% bio Wdiesel. Some scientists are even finding ways to use the glycerin byproducts as cattle feed or health and beauty products.

Bio diesel is good for your engine.
It's a better lubricator than petro-diesel and tends to be a better cleaning agent for your fuel system. It also has a higher Cetane rating, which means it's a better fuel. Bio-diesel is not compatible with ordinary rubber. If your fuel system has rubber fittings they can be replaced with Viton to counter this, However, most modern Diesel engines do not use rubber fittings anymore.

Bio diesel is good for the earth.

Bio diesel is non toxic. More biodegradable than petro-diesel, it's cleaner burning and doesn't add Co2 to the atmosphere when burned. Less dangerous in a spill or accident, bio-diesel smells like a deep fryer when it burns instead of the nasty diesel smell.

Because it produces such clean emissions bio diesel has a positive impact on global warming. Refining bio diesel also has a low carbon footprint. Bio-diesel is cheap, Eco-friendly and safe. This just might be the fuel of the future and a valuable weapon in the fight against global climate change.

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