RV Life - Back Issues

The Case for Biodiesel

With soaring oil prices affecting family pocketbooks and government policy alike, alternative fuel has once again become a hot topic. The good news is that if you run a standard petrodiesel RV or tow vehicle, there is an alternative available today that supports renewable domestic sources of energy, burns significantly cleaner, and, with a little know-how and elbow grease (emphasis on “grease”), can even offer substantial fuel savings. Sound too good to be true? Read on.

In an era of hybrid fuel technology, currently wooing buyers of the small car and SUV markets, there’s something owners of diesels can do to stretch their fuel dollars, too. We’re talking about biodiesel, a renewable fuel made from any natural oil source, ranging from clean soybean oil to reclaimed waste vegetable oil from restaurant fryers. If this seems like some new and uncertain technology, it really isn’t. Think of it like the fuel of tomorrow from the byproducts of today.

When Rudolf Diesel invented his namesake engine in the 1890s, he designed it to use several fuel sources including most notably vegetable oil. Petrodiesel became the norm in the 1900s only because it was cheaper to produce. Hard to imagine these days, but it was very true at the time.

Biodiesel Benefits
While pure biodiesel fuel can run in any diesel engine with few or no modifications, it is most commonly available today in bio/petrol blends. A blend marked at the pump as a B5 for instance is a blend of 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent petrodiesel, but blends can typically fall in a range anywhere from B2 to B20. As of right now the price you’ll pay at the pump for biodiesel will likely be a few cents more than regular diesel. As biodiesel production continues to ramp up, consumers can expect to see those price differences level off in the future. It’s also worth considering that a few extra pennies per gallon isn’t a steep price to pay in the short run for an energy source that can help America break its dependence on uncertain foreign oil supplies. Moreover, a lesser need for oil helps avoid the need to uncover new oil sources, such as by drilling in sensitive wildlife areas, and can drastically reduce pollution. For a map of biodiesel retailers around the country, check out www.biodiesel.org.

Making Your Own
Of course, you could take this one step farther. Take note, for this is where the real dollar savings come in. If you’ve wanted to give OPEC a piece of your mind since the early ‘70’s and are a fairly skilled do-it-yourselfer then you might also consider becoming a biodiesel home brewer. Known as transesterification, the process isn’t nearly as eye-glazing as the name suggests. Basically it goes like this: Take new or used cooking oil (used oil can often be gotten from local restaurants at no cost) and combine it with sodium methoxide, which is simply a mixture of methanol and sodium hydroxide or lye. From there, the whole concoction is then heated and stirred and allowed to cool for eight to nine hours. After cooling you’ll have methyl esters, or biodiesel, and glycerin, which makes things easier by settling on the bottom as a solid for easy discard. (Glycerin can be me made into soap if you’re really ambitious). Most biodiesel then needs to be “washed” with water to separate out any remaining impurities. Though surely a hassle and not for the squeamish, your little biodiesel laboratory could save you big-time costs at the pump.

This is the part where my lawyer wants me to say that the preceding is only a brief overview of the process and anyone interested should do a good deal of research before handling these potentially dangerous chemicals. A good place to start is www.journeytoforever.org/biodiesel.html. Home brewers should also be aware that using unblended biodiesel can, over time, corrode rubber hoses in vehicles made prior to 1994 and that biodiesel can have issues starting in cold weather. Such is the life of a do-it-yourselfer. Adaptations in the brewing process can help adjust for this.