BioDiesel

WHAT IS IT?

BioDiesel is a form of diesel fuel suitable for all types of diesel engines that utilizes vegetable oil rather than fossil fuel petroleum.

In the fabrication of BioDiesel, methanol and sodium hydroxide (lye) are used in conjunction with vegetable oil in a chemical process called transesterification, which removes the glycerin from the vegetable oil, reducing its viscosity and making it suitable for the diesel fuel tank.

The byproducts of BioDiesel manufacturing are biodegradable glycerin (that can also be used for soap-making and cosmetics) and water.

Biodiesel can be made from almost any form of vegetable oil, such as soy, canola, cotton-seed, sunflower, palm, etc, including Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) from restaurant fryers.

WHO CAN USE IT?

Anyone with a Diesel vehicle or other equipment with a Diesel engine.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BioDiesel:

For all practical purposes, BioDiesel differs from petroDiesel in two ways:

1) BioDiesel gels more rapidly than petroDiesel in cold weather, requiring it to be mixed with petroDiesel or some other suitable anti-gelling agent during the winter (usually 85% BioDiesel, 15% petroDiesel works even on the coldest mornings in our area).

2) BioDiesel is more active as a solvent. It will eat away the paint on your car, certain natural rubber seals or hoses, and will clean out your fuel tank and lines of old petroleum Diesel deposits. Therefore, we must wipe up any spills, check for fuel leaks on older vehicles (manufactured prior to 1994) and replace old hoses and seals with new synthetic ones, and be sure to change the fuel filter often during the transition from petroDiesel to BioDiesel.

Other than these two considerations, BioDiesel is fill-up-and-go, just like petroDiesel.

BioDiesel is more lubricative to your engine and has much reduced emissions. It is a carbon-neutral fuel (the green-house gas - carbon dioxide - released by the burning of the fuel is reabsorbed by next year’s crop). Also, it smells much better…like French Fries!

WHAT GEN OFFERS:

GEN offers retail sale of BioDiesel for on-road and off-road use. GEN carries ASTM-tested and certified BioDiesel, produced locally and sustainably from waste vegetable oil and virgin feedstock by RioValley BioFuels, in Anthony, NM.