Question about bio-diesel...

[kevinam]

Okay, I am not very well versed on bio-diesel, but curious. I live in GA, and as many of you know public schools were shut down for two days to conserve diesel fuel. One thing I am curious about that I haven't heard anyone suggest.

Would it be practical/realistic to convert all public school buses to bio-diesel?? I guess conversion to bio-diesel is not a big deal/expense. Could bio-diesel be made that readily available?? Someone that is more versed on this subject, what is your opinion of converting school buses or even public transportation buses to bio-diesel?? Thanks for any help/info.

Kevin.

[mike_c]

1. as far as I'm aware, no real "conversion" is necessary....

I have several friends who drive bio-diesel vehicles. I think they're simply standard diesels that they fill with veggie oil derived diesel fuel from a local commercial supplier. When they drive them out of the area they buy standard No.2 diesel fuel.

[adarling]

2. Willy Nelson sure thinks so

all his cars and such run on it and it is readily availible, just the gas companies don't want you to know about it.

[skids]

3. Just ask the folks over in VA

They've already done it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x31968

[randomelement]

4. Check here for additional info

http://biodiesel.org/

In short, bio-diesel is a mixture of standard diesel fuel and a biodegradable liquid (usually vegetable oil). With the correct ratio, the standard diesel motor doesn't need to be modified - just fill up the tank and go.

[dcfirefighter]

5. Biodiesel is chemically modified vegetable oil

they (or you) take the glycerin out of the vegetable oil, by a process called transesterification.

B100 is pure biodiesel. It can be generally substituted for petrodiesel, but it gels at a higher (cool) temperature, and tends to degrade certain types of rubber. Engines / furnaces that plan on using biodiesel should have their hoses and gaskets checked and perhaps upgraded.

B20 is 20% biodiesel, 80% petrodiesel; you can figure out wat B10, B5, and B2 are.

Biodiesel burns cleaner than petrodiesel, is ultra low sulfur, has higher lubricity, and better detergent properties. It's lubricity leads it to be mixed with ultra low sulfer diesel to improve the lubricity lost by removing the sulfur. Usually this is B2.

When converting an existing engine to biodiesel, it is recommended to start with a tank of B2, then B5, then B10, then B20, then B50, while checking / replacing the oil & fuel filters between tanks, as the detergent property of the biodiesel with 'clean' existing engine deposits.

Most diesel engines can be run on straight vegetable oil (SVO) when the engine is warm. Kits are available that add an additional pony tank, either in the trunk or under the hood, that is filled with diesel and used for starting the motor. Once the motor is warm, a dashboard switch is thrown, and SVO from the main tank is burned. SVO can be obtained as waste oil from restaraunts, filtered, and put in the tank. SVO gels at a higher temperature than either biodiesel or petrodiesel, a problem in northern climates, though not insurmountable.