Action Briefing Aug 2004 - Sept 2004
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

Fuel-good Factor: the wonders of biodiesel

Guest Article: Matthew Flynn, a researcher in biofuels from Birmingham University, and Ian Moore, a local mechanic and Birmingham FoE volunteer, report on their new initiative to bring biodiesel to Birmingham.

Inspired by our May Bank Holiday weekend trip with Birmingham Friends of the Earth to the Centre for Alternative Technology, we hit upon the idea of holding a biodiesel workshop to demonstrate how diesel vehicle owners can turn waste household frying oil into a safe, clean and environmentally friendly alternative to petro-diesel.

Biodiesel naturally contains nearly zero sulphur, reduces some tailpipe pollutants and is a superior lubricant. It is safely and easily biodegradable and can even be used as a solvent to help clean up fossil oil spills.

Biodiesel can either be blended or fully substituted without engine modification. Owing to its high viscosity compared to petro-diesel, biodiesel must either be thinned prior to use or heated before it reaches the engine. Our workshop demonstrated both options, which can use new or waste vegetable oil.

The science bit
In the first method was demonstrated in small batch quantities and took about 1 hour. The oil undergoes a chemical process called “esterification” to remove glycerine, which would otherwise gum up the diesel engine’s injectors. Biodiesel produced this way can be poured straight into the fuel tank and the glycerol (Warning: don’t put the glycerol in your tank!) can be used to make liquid soap.

Ian’s converted ‘vegi-van’ served to illustrate the second method, which involves fitting the vehicle with a heat exchanger and secondary fuel tank. The engine is started on conventional diesel and shortly after switched over to the now heated vegetable oil.

The nitty-gritty
DIY conversion kits to run on ‘straight’ vegetable oil cost about £400, rising to £800 if you have one fitted, but you can put your own biodiesel production kit together for about £100. Ian’s conversion has cost just £40 so far!

Biodiesel is not illegal but it must meet the standard EN24214 to maintain vehicle warranties and you MUST pay Road Fuel Duty (currently 27p litre).

The future?
BP has recently estimated that there are some 1.15 trillion barrels, equivalent to 40 years’ worth, of oil left in the world. The fossil fuel economy is becoming ever more precarious. Rising carbon dioxide emissions from transport threaten to derail our efforts to curb the effects of worsening climate change. Oil will become scarcer, more inaccessible, more fought over, and more costly as the century wears on. That said, biofuels are not a cure-all for our transport problems. Their development must go hand in hand with measures to reduce overall demand for fuel through, for example, improving public transport, promoting walking and cycling, and significantly raising vehicle fuel-efficiency.

The problems
While using waste vegetable oil is certainly a positive step for the environment, biofuels from crops grown specifically to turn into oil to burn in vehicles is worse for climate change than fossil fuel-derived petrol and diesel. The increase in farming of crops for biodiesel production is also a major factor contributing to deforestation and the rapid rise in global food prices. As a result, Friends of the Earth discourage the use of biodiesel from most mainstream suppliers.

Matthew Flynn and Ian Moore

Updated by Chris Williams, May 2008

More Information

• www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk Good discussion site on DIY biodiesel.

• www.vegburner.co.uk & www.journeytoforever.org Two excellent sites on DIY biodiesel and related issues.

• www.veggievan.org Website of Joshua Tickell, author of ‘From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank’, 1999, Tickell Energy Consulting.