About bio-fuels

Bio-fuel is any fuel made from renewable, non-fossil, organic materials.

There are many different types, among them are –

Bio-diesel is specifically Rapeseed Methyl Ester (RME), made by trans-esterifying lipid fats.  

Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) is any virgin (unused) vegetable oil (normally rape seed oil or corn oil) used as a fuel without modification.
Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) is used vegetable oil as collected from pubs, restaurants and chip shops

Modified Waste Vegetable Fat (MWVF) is a special form of bio-fuel, developed by a man called John Nicholson, who has set up a network of companies that make as range of biofuels .    It is made from waste vegetable fat, which has been cleaned and specially treated with added organic oils and solvents so that it can be used in normal diesel engines.

Can you burn bio-fuels in any normal diesel engine?

Yes, All diesel engines will also burn Modified Waste Vegetable Fat without any modification. Nearly all compression ignition engines will burn BIO-DIESEL without any modification.  However, rubber parts in the fuel delivery system may dissolve because Bio-diesel is a very active solvent. Bio-diesel can also remove the protective coatings used in fuel tanks which then block fuel filters.

Some bio-fuels are not suitable for use in spark ignition engines and will damage the engine, bio-fuel that will run in petrol engines can be made. Ethanol is an alternative fuel for petrol engines

Benefits of using bio-fuel

• Organic fuels are renewable . Unlike fuels derived from finite fossil reserves, vegetable and animal fats can be re-created quickly and indefinitely. The energy they contain was collected from the sun as the plants grew and the animals stored fat.
• Organic fuels do not have to be imported . We have the potential to grow our own fuel materials from oil producing plants, algae, and other specialist plants, some of which will even grow on the roofs of buildings or in brackish water
• Organic fuels are at least carbon neutral . Burning fuels derived from recently growing materials does not release into the atmosphere carbon that has otherwise been locked below the earth's surface for millions of years. The results of Carbon Cycle audits carried out by the French suggest that the use of renewable organic fuels can in fact reverse the effect of Global Warming.
• Organic fuels are cleaner burning . They do not cause toxic exhaust emissions of heavy metals, and other noxious chemicals.
• Organic fuels are bio-degradable. The carboxylic link which is a characteristic of organically derived chemicals means that enzymes quickly break down any spilt fuel molecules.
• Organic fuels are safe and stable. They do not present a risk of explosion or fire when stored in normal steel tanks, do not or emit toxic fumes and cannot be ignited by a naked flame. Organic fuels do not need to be stored under pressure or underground.
• Engines running on organic fuels are quieter. They do not have a hard clicking noise, but more of a grunt.
• Engines running on organic fuel last longer. Organic fuels provide much better upper cylinder lubrication, and run more smoothly and quietly.
• Exhaust odour is more pleasant. The exhaust smell from burning organic fuel is not acrid, but sweet and generally much more appetizing.