The use of Vegetable Oil Fuel is carbon positive, this means that more carbon is locked up into the soil from growing the oil seed plant than released into the atmosphere by burning the oil produced from it. While the exhaust releases greenhouse gasses not that much different to petroleum fuels, the carbon being released was only captured from the atmosphere by the oil seed plant in the last couple of years. By using Vegetable Oil as fuel, you are taking part in the carbon cycle, reducing the carbon in the atmosphere rather than releasing more carbon from ancient deposits.
Vegetable Oil as Fuel won't save the world, but it is a step in the right direction allowing us to use the embodied energy in our existing diesel vehicle fleet while we wait for the next generation of truly sustainable vehicles to come along, which are likely to run on electricity, oil procuced from algae, hydrogen produced from solar power - or a combination of these.
By using Waste Vegetable Oil, we are not tying up valuable farming land to grow fuel crops. The Oil has already been used for it's intended purpose when it was grown as a food, and has used up it's embodied energy, which is the energy that was taken to grow it in the first place. By collecting your fuel locally from your favorite take-a-way, you are not wasting the energy of mass transportation that is contained in conventional fuels.
It is a great feeling driving down the road, knowing that you're having a positive impact on the environmental situation.
The diesel engine was originally designed by Rudolf Diesel to run on vegetable oil, and later came to be run on mineral fuels due to the lower cost of production. He thought that this engine could assist farmers to be more self sustaining, and not have to rely on outside inputs for their mechanisation. Today most farm vehicles have a diesel motor, which many farmers could be operating from resources grown on their own farm!
Today's diesel vehicles are not designed to operate on straight vegetable oil without modification to the vehicle. Many people modify the oil into a thinner fuel called fatty acid methyl esters otherwise known as Biodiesel, which requires a chemical reaction in a processing plant and the use of about 20% Methanol which is produced from fossil fuels.
Unlike Biodiesel, Vegetable Oil Fuel doesn't require any fossil fuels or chemicals for its production and is essentially a waste product of the food industry. Vegetable Oil as fuel doesn't attract a fuel excise in Australia, making it a much cheaper option for those considering the backyard production of Biodiesel which will work out to be at least 60 cents per litre more expensive due to the fuel excise and the costs of chemical inputs.
The cost of converting your diesel engine is likely to be significantly less than establishing a decent biodiesel plant. A conversion will often pay itself off in one service period. Check out this cost comparsion.
Every pub has a fryer and every town has a pub!
Waste Vegetable oil is available from just about any fish and chip shop, takeaway, café, restaurant, or canteen - often with such a high quality that you can pour it directly into your fuel tank and drive away!
Vegiecars is currently undertaking a trial delivering quality Waste Vegetable Oil Fuel to your home and investigating establishing a community operated refuelling point in your locality.
Vegiecars is planning to roll out a fuel supply system via locally owned co-operative depots, with an aim to establishing a network of community owned unmanned refuelling points across the country that utilises smart card technology. We are starting the roll out locally in Melbourne and then will expand to other communities where there is substantial interest.
If successful, we will be able to deliver fuel to your home or local depot for around half the price of diesel fuel to most cities and regional towns in Australia. If you are interested in having VegieFuel delivered to your location, please contact Marcus with an expression of interest.
