Vegetable oil used as fuel - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Alternative fuel

Alternative fuels, known as non-conventional or advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels...

for diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

s and for heating oil

Heating oil

Heating oil, or oil heat, is a low viscosity, flammable liquid petroleum product used as a fuel for furnaces or boilers in buildings. Home heating oil is often abbreviated as HHO...

burners. For engines designed to burn diesel fuel, the viscosity

Viscosity

Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid which is being deformed by either shear or tensile stress. In everyday terms , viscosity is "thickness" or "internal friction". Thus, water is "thin", having a lower viscosity, while honey is "thick", having a higher viscosity...

of vegetable oil must be lowered to allow for proper atomization

Atomization

Atomization or Atomizer may refer to:* The conversion of a vaporized sample into atomic components in atomic spectroscopy* An apparatus using an atomizer nozzle* Atomizer Geyser, a cone geyser in Yellowstone National Park...

of the fuel, otherwise incomplete combustion and carbon build up will ultimately damage 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) or pure plant oil (PPO) to distinguish it from biodiesel

Biodiesel

Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....

History

Rudolf Diesel

Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel was a German inventor and mechanical engineer, famous for the invention of the diesel engine.-Early life:Diesel was born in Paris, France in 1858 the second of three children of Theodor and Elise Diesel. His parents were Bavarian immigrants living in Paris. Theodor...

was the father of the engine which bears his name. His first attempts were to design an engine to run on coal dust, but later designed his engine to run on vegetable oil. The idea, he hoped, would make his engines more attractive to farmers having a source of fuel readily available. In a 1912 presentation to the British Institute of Mechanical Engineers, he cited a number of efforts in this area and remarked, "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."

Periodic petroleum shortages spurred research into vegetable oil as a diesel substitute during the 1930s and 1940s, and again in the 1970s and early 1980s when straight vegetable oil enjoyed its highest level of scientific interest. The 1970s also saw the formation of the first commercial enterprise to allow consumers to run straight vegetable oil in their automobiles, Elsbett

Elsbett

The Elsbett engine is a design of diesel engine designed to run on vegetable oil. It's also known as Elko engine and was invented by Ludwig Elsbett....

of Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. In the 1990s Bougainville

Bougainville Province

The Autonomous Region of Bougainville, previously known as North Solomons, is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Bougainville Island , and the province also includes the island of Buka and assorted outlying islands including the Carterets...

conflict, islanders cut off from oil supplies due to a blockade used coconut oil

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm . Throughout the tropical world, it has provided the primary source of fat in the diets of millions of people for generations. It has various applications in food, medicine, and industry...

to fuel their vehicles.

Academic research into straight vegetable oil fell off sharply in the 1980s with falling petroleum prices and greater interest in biodiesel

Biodiesel

Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....

as an option that did not require extensive vehicle modification.

Application and usability

While engineers and enthusiasts have been experimenting with using vegetable oils as fuel for a diesel engine since at least 1900, it is only recently that the necessary fuel properties and engine parameters for reliable operation have become apparent, only a handful of peer reviewed studies exist that show reliable long term use of vegetable oil: one for the German Deutz AG

Deutz AG

Deutz AG is an engine manufacturer, based in Cologne, Germany.-History:The company was founded by Nikolaus Otto, inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, in 1864 as N. A...

F3l912W. and another for a high speed common rail

Common rail

Common rail direct fuel injection is a modern variant of direct fuel injection system for petrol and diesel engines.On diesel engines, it features a high-pressure fuel rail feeding individual solenoid valves, as opposed to low-pressure fuel pump feeding unit injectors...

engine fitted to a Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

220 C Class

Modified fuel systems

Most diesel car engines are suitable for the use of SVO, also commonly called Pure Plant Oil (PPO), with suitable modifications. Principally, the viscosity

Viscosity

and surface tension

Surface tension

Surface tension is a property of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force. It is revealed, for example, in floating of some objects on the surface of water, even though they are denser than water, and in the ability of some insects to run on the water surface...

of the SVO/PPO must be reduced by preheating it, typically by using waste heat from the engine or electricity, otherwise poor atomization, incomplete combustion and carbonization

Carbonization

Carbonization or carbonisation is the term for the conversion of an organic substance into carbon or a carbon-containing residue through pyrolysis or destructive distillation. It is often used in organic chemistry with reference to the generation of coal gas and coal tar from raw coal...

may result. One common solution is to add a heat exchanger

Heat exchanger

A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another. The media may be separated by a solid wall, so that they never mix, or they may be in direct contact...

, and an additional fuel tank for "normal" diesel fuel (petrodiesel or biodiesel

Biodiesel

Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....

) and a three way valve to switch between this additional tank and the main tank of SVO/PPO. (This aftermarket modification typically costs about $1200 USD

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

.) The engine is started on diesel, switched over to vegetable oil as soon as it is warmed up and switched back to diesel shortly before being switched off to ensure that no vegetable oil remains in the engine or fuel lines when it is started from cold again. In colder climates it is often necessary to heat the vegetable oil fuel lines and tank as it can become very viscous and even solidify.

Single tank conversions have been developed, largely in Germany, which have been used throughout Europe. These conversions are designed to provide reliable operation with rapeseed oil that meets the German rapeseed oil fuel standard DIN

Deutsches Institut für Normung

is the German national organization for standardization and is that country's ISO member body. DIN is a Registered German Association headquartered in Berlin...

51605. Modifications to the engines cold start regime assist combustion on start up and during the engine warm up phase. Suitably modified indirect injection

Indirect injection

In an internal combustion engine, the term indirect injection refers to a fuel injection where fuel is not directly injected into the combustion chamber...

(IDI) engines have proven to be operable with 100% PPO down to temperatures of -10°C. Direct injection (DI) engines generally have to be preheated with a block heater

Block heater

A block heater warms an engine to ease and speed starting and vehicle warmup in cold weather. The most common type is an electric heating element connected through a power cord often routed through the vehicle's grille. The block heater may replace one of the engine's core plugs, or may be...

or diesel fired heater. The exception is the VW Tdi (Turbocharged Direct Injection

Turbocharged Direct Injection

TDI or Turbocharged Direct Injection is a design of turbodiesel engines, which feature turbocharging and cylinder-direct fuel injection, developed and produced by Volkswagen Group. These TDI engines are widely used in all mainstream Volkswagen Group marques of passenger cars and light commercial...

) 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.

Unmodified indirect injection engines

Many cars powered by indirect injection

Indirect injection

In an internal combustion engine, the term indirect injection refers to a fuel injection where fuel is not directly injected into the combustion chamber...

engines supplied by in-line injection pumps, or mechanical Bosch

Robert Bosch GmbH

Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...

injection pumps are capable of running on pure SVO/PPO in all but winter temperatures. Indirect injection Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

vehicles with in-line injection pumps and cars featuring the PSA XUD

PSA XUD

The PSA XUD is a Diesel engine designed and built by PSA - Peugeot and Citroën. It is an Indirect Injection engine, that uses a version of the Ricardo Consulting Engineers Ricardo Comet prechamber cylinder head design. The engine comes in 1769cc 1.8 N/A, 1.8 Turbo, 1905cc 1.9 N/A, 1.9 Turbo, 2.1...

engine tend to perform reasonably, especially as the latter is normally equipped with a coolant heated fuel filter

Fuel filter

A fuel filter is a filter in the fuel line that screens out dirt and rust particles from the fuel, normally made into cartridges containing a filter paper. They are found in most internal combustion engines....

. Engine reliability would depend on the condition of the engine. Attention to maintenance of the engine, particularly of the fuel injectors, cooling system and glow plugs will help to provide longevity. Ideally the engine would be converted.

Vegetable oil blending

The relatively high kinematic viscosity of vegetable oils must be reduced to make them compatible with conventional compression-ignition 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). This blending, or "cutting", has been done with diesel fuel, kerosene, and gasoline, amongst others; however, opinions vary as to the efficacy

Efficacy

Efficacy is the capacity to produce an effect. It has different specific meanings in different fields. In medicine, it is the ability of an intervention or drug to reproduce a desired effect in expert hands and under ideal circumstances.- Healthcare :...

of this. Noted problems include higher rates of wear and failure in fuel pumps and piston rings when use blends.

Home heating

When liquid fuels made from biomass are used for energy purposes other than transport, they are called bioliquids.

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. These are generally not as clean-burning as petroleum fuel oil, but if processed at home, by the consumer, can result in considerable savings. Many restaurants will give away their used cooking oil either free or at minimal cost, and processing to biodiesel is fairly simple and inexpensive. Burning filtered Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) directly is somewhat more problematic, since it is much more viscous, but it can be accomplished with suitable preheating. WVO can thus be an economical heating option for those with the necessary mechanical and experimental aptitude, and where fire regulations and insurance policy permit it.

Combined heat and power

A number of companies offer compressed ignition engine generators optimized to run on plant oils where the waste engine heat is recovered for heating.

Properties

The main form of SVO/PPO used in the UK is rapeseed

Rapeseed

Rapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...

oil (also known as canola

Canola

Canola refers to a cultivar of either Rapeseed or Field Mustard . Its seeds are used to produce edible oil suitable for consumption by humans and livestock. The oil is also suitable for use as biodiesel.Originally, Canola was bred naturally from rapeseed in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur R...

oil, primarily in the United States and Canada) which has a freezing point of -10°C. However the use of sunflower oil, which gels at around -12°C, 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

Iodine number

The iodine value in chemistry is the mass of iodine in grams that is consumed by 100 grams of a chemical substance. An iodine solution is yellow/brown in color and any chemical group in the substance that reacts with iodine will make the color disappear at a precise concentration...

) and polymerize more easily in the presence of atmospheric oxygen.

Material compatibility

Free fatty acids in WVO can have a detrimental effect on metals. Copper and its alloys, such as brass, are affected. Zinc and zinc-plating (galvanization

Galvanization

Galvanization is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, in order to prevent rusting. The term is derived from the name of Italian scientist Luigi Galvani....

) are stripped by FFA's and tin, lead, iron, and steel are affected too. Stainless steel and aluminum are generally unaffected.

Temperature effects

Some Pacific island nations are using coconut oil

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 (62 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.

Waste vegetable oil

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

was producing in excess of 11 billion liters (2.9 billion U.S. gallons) of waste vegetable oil annually, mainly from industrial deep fryers in potato

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

processing plants, snack food

Snack food

A snack is a portion of food oftentimes smaller than that of a regular meal, that is generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged and processed foods and items made from fresh ingredients at home....

factories and fast food restaurant

Fast food restaurant

A fast food restaurant, also known as a Quick Service Restaurant or QSR within the industry itself, is a specific type of restaurant characterized both by its fast food cuisine and by minimal table service...

s. If all those 11 billion liters could be collected and used to replace the energy equivalent amount of petroleum (an ideal case), almost 1% of US oil consumption could be offset. Use of waste vegetable oil as a 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.

Pure plant oil (Straight vegetable oil)

Pure plant oil (PPO) (or Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO)), in contrast to waste 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. 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.

Taxation of fuel

Taxation on SVO/PPO as a road fuel varies from country to country, and it is possible the revenue departments in many countries are even unaware of its use, or feel it insufficiently significant to legislate. Germany used to have 0% taxation, resulting in it being a leader in most developments of the fuel use. However SVO/PPO as a road fuel began to be taxed at 0,09 €/liter from 1 January 2008 in Germany, with incremental rises up to 0,45 €/liter by 2012. However, in Australia it has become illegal to produce any fuel if it is to be sold unless a license to do so is granted by the federal government. This is a chargeable offense with a fine of up to 20,000 dollars but this bracket may alter circumstantially. Also a jail term may result if offenders are aware of the illegality of selling the fuel.

USA

The legality of burning SVO in the United States of America is debated by many. Though vehicle conversions are available both as "do-it-yourself" kits, or professionally installed in virtually every metropolitan area, the EPA clearly states vegetable oil (raw or recycled) is not registered for use as a vehicle fuel. Further, vehicles converted to use vegetable oil as fuel would "likely need to be certified by the EPA," and no such certifications have been done to date.

There seems to be no clear federal taxation system in the USA. Production of biodiesel in some US regions may require motor fuel taxes to be paid.

Japan

The Japanese Government has also exempted the use of SVO as a fuel from road tax.

Republic of Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

a pilot scheme is currently running, whereby as of April 2006, eight suppliers have been approved to sell SVO/PPO for use as a fuel without the payment of excise duty (Value Added Tax

Value added tax

A value added tax or value-added tax is a form of consumption tax. From the perspective of the buyer, it is a tax on the purchase price. From that of the seller, it is a tax only on the "value added" to a product, material or service, from an accounting point of view, by this stage of its...

at 21% still applies). SVO from any other source still attracts excise duty at 36.8058 Euro cents

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

per litre plus 21% VAT).

France

Despite its prevalent use in France, it appears there has been no legislation to date to cover this.

UK

In the UK it is legal once duty on the fuel is paid, or, in the case of using or producing less than 2,500 litres per year, no duty is necessary.

In the UK, drivers using SVO/PPO have in the past been prosecuted for failure to pay duty to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government responsible for the collection of taxes and the payment of some forms of state support....

. The rate of taxation on SVO was originally set at a reduced rate of 27.1p per litre, but in late 2005, HMRC started to enforce the full diesel excise rate of 47.1p per litre.

HMRC argued that SVOs/PPOs on the market from small producers did not meet the official definition of "biodiesel" in Section 2AA of The Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979 (HODA), and consequently was merely a "fuel substitute" chargeable at the normal diesel rate. Such a policy seemed to contradict the UK Government's commitments to the Kyoto Protocol

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...

and to many EU directives and had many consequences, including an attempt to make the increase retroactive, with one organization being presented with a £16,000 back tax bill. This change in the rate of excise duty effectively removed any commercial incentive to use SVO/PPO, regardless of its desirability on environmental grounds; unless waste vegetable oil can be obtained free of charge, the combined price of SVO/PPO and taxation for its use usually exceeded the price of mineral diesel. HMRC's interpretation is widely challenged by the SVO/PPO industry and the UK pure Plant Oil Association (UKPPOA)] was formed to represent the interests of people using vegetable oil as fuel and to lobby parliament.

Following a review in late 2006, HM Revenue & Customs has announced changes regarding the administration and collection of excise duty of biofuels and other fuel substitutes (Veg Oil). The changes came into effect on June 30, 2007. There is no longer a requirement to register to pay duty on vegetable oil used as road fuel for those who "produce" or use less than 2,500 litres per year. For those producing over this threshold the biodiesel rate now applies.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Application and usability

Modified fuel systems

Unmodified indirect injection engines

Vegetable oil blending

Home heating

Combined heat and power

Properties

Material compatibility

Temperature effects

Waste vegetable oil

Pure plant oil (Straight vegetable oil)

Taxation of fuel

USA

Japan

Republic of Ireland

France

UK

See also

External links