Vegetable oil can be used as an alternative fuel in diesel engines and in heating oil burners.

When
vegetable oil is used directly as a fuel, in either modified or unmodified equipment, it is referred to as
straight vegetable oil (SVO) or pure plant oil (PPO). Conventional diesel engines can be modified to help
ensure that the viscosity of the vegetable oil is low enough to allow proper atomization of the fuel. This
prevents incomplete combustion, which would damage the engine by causing a build-up of carbon.
Straight vegetable oil can also be blended with conventional diesel or processed into biodiesel or
bioliquids for use under a wider range of conditions.

Most diesel car engines are suitable for the use of straight vegetable oil (SVO), also commonly called
pure plant oil (PPO), with certain modifications. Principally, the viscosity and surface tension of the
SVO/PPO must be reduced by preheating it, typically by using waste heat from the engine or electricity,
otherwise poor atomization, incomplete combustion and carbonization may result. One common
solution is to add a heat exchanger and an additional fuel tank for the petrodiesel or biodiesel blend and
to switch between this additional tank and the main tank of SVO/PPO. The engine is started on diesel,
switched over to vegetable oil as soon as it is warmed up and switched back to diesel shortly before
being switched off to ensure that no vegetable oil remains in the engine or fuel lines when it is started
from cold again. In colder climates it is often necessary to heat the vegetable oil fuel lines and tank as it
can become very viscous and even solidify.

Single tank conversions have been developed, largely in Germany, which have been used throughout
Europe. These conversions are designed to provide reliable operation with rapeseed oil that meets the
German rapeseed oil fuel standard DIN 51605. Modifications to the engines cold start regime assist
combustion on start up and during the engine warm up phase. Suitably modified indirect injection (IDI)
engines have proven to be operable with 100% PPO down to temperatures of −10 °C (14 °F). Direct
injection (DI) engines generally have to be preheated with a block heater or diesel fired heater. The
exception is the VW Tdi (Turbocharged Direct Injection) engine for which a number of German
companies offer single tank conversions. For long term durability it has been found necessary to increase
the oil change frequency and to pay increased attention to engine maintenance.

Properties Edit

The main form of SVO/PPO used in the UK is rapeseed oil (also known as canola oil, primarily in the
United States and Canada) which has a freezing point of −10 °C (14 °F).[citation needed] However the
use of sunflower oil, which gels at around −12 °C (10 °F),[6] is currently being investigated as a means of
improving cold weather starting. Unfortunately oils with lower gelling points tend to be less saturated
(leading to a higher iodine number) and polymerize more easily in the presence of atmospheric oxygen.
Material compatibility Edit

Polymerization also has been consequentially linked to catastrophic component failures such as injection
pump shaft seizure and breakage, injector tip failure leading to various and/or combustion chamber
components damaged. Most metallurgical problems such as corrosion and electrolysis are related to
water based contamination or poor choices of plumbing (such as copper or Zinc) which can cause
gelling- even with petroleum based fuels.

Temperature effects Edit

Some Pacific island nations are using coconut oil as fuel to reduce their expenses and their dependence
on imported fuels while helping stabilize the coconut oil market. Coconut oil is only usable where
temperatures do not drop below 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit), unless two-tank SVO/PPO
kits or other tank-heating accessories, etc. are used. Fortunately, the same techniques developed to use,
for example, canola and other oils in cold climates can be implemented to make coconut oil usable in
temperatures lower than 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit)

Vegetable oils as alternative energy

Vegetable oils are increasingly used as a substitute for fossil fuels. Vegetable oils are the basis of
biodiesel, which can be used like conventional diesel. Some vegetable oil blends are used in unmodified
vehicles, but straight vegetable oil needs specially prepared vehicles which have a method of heating the
oil to reduce its viscosity and surface tension. Another alternative is vegetable oil refining.

The availability of biodiesel around the world is increasing, although still tiny compared to conventional
fossil fuel sources. There is significant research in algaculture methods to make biofuel from algae.

Concerns have been expressed about growing crops for fuel use rather than food and the environmental
impacts of large-scale agriculture and land clearing required to expand the production of vegetable oil
for fuel use. These effects/impacts would need to be specifically researched and evaluated, economically
and ecologically, and weighed in balance with the proposed benefits of vegetable oil fuel in relation to
the use of other fuel sources.

Safety Edit
Plantains frying in vegetable oil

Vegetable oil is far less toxic than other fuels such as gasoline, petroleum-based diesel, ethanol, or
methanol, and has a much higher flash point (approximately 275-290 °C).[2] The higher flash point
reduces the risk of accidental ignition. Some types of vegetable oil are edible.

Environmental effects Edit

Main article: Social and environmental impact of palm oil

Jungle burned for agriculture in southern Mexico.

There is concern that the current growing demand for vegetable oil is causing deforestation, with old
forests being replaced with oil palms.[28] When land is cleared it is often burned, which releases large
amounts of the greenhouse gas CO2. Vegetable oil production would have to increase substantially to
replace gasoline and diesel. With current technology such an increase in production would have a
substantial environmental impact.[29]

Transportation Edit

Vegetable oil is used for transportation in four different ways:

Vegetable oil blends - Mixing vegetable oil with diesel lets users get some of the advantages of burning
vegetable oil and is often done with no modification to the vehicle.[3]

Biodiesel - If vegetable oil is transesterified it becomes biodiesel. Biodiesel burns like normal diesel and
works fine in any diesel engine. The name just indicates that the fuel came from vegetable oil.

Straight vegetable oil - Straight vegetable oil works in diesel engines if it is heated first.[4] Some diesel
engines already heat their fuel, others need a small electric heater on the fuel line. How well it works
depends on the heating system, the engine, the type of vegetable oil (thinner is easier), and the climate
(warmer is easier). Some data is available on results users are seeing.[5] As vegetable oil has become
more popular as a fuel, engines are being designed to handle it better. The Elsbett engine is designed to
run on straight vegetable oil.[6] However, as of the start of 2007, it seems that there are not any
production vehicles warrantied for burning straight vegetable oil, although Deutz offer a tractor and John
Deere are known to be in late stages of engine development. There is a German rapeseed oil fuel
standard DIN 51605. At this point straight vegetable oil is only a niche market although the market
segment in Germany is rapidly growing with large haulage vehicle fleets adopting the fuel, largely for
economic reasons. A growing number of decentralised oil mills provide a large part of this fuel.[7]

Vegetable oil refining - Vegetable oil can be used as feedstock for an oil refinery. There it can be
transformed into fuel by hydrocracking (which breaks big molecules into smaller ones using hydrogen) or
hydrogenation (which adds hydrogen to molecules). These methods can produce gasoline, diesel, or
propane. Some commercial examples of vegetable oil refining are NExBTL, H-Bio, and the ConocoPhilips
Process.[8]

The transition can start with biodiesel, vegetable oil refining, and vegetable oil blends, since these
technologies do not require the capital outlay of converting an engine to run on vegetable oils. Because
it costs to convert vegetable oil into biodiesel it is expected that vegetable oil will always be cheaper
than biodiesel. After there are production cars that can use straight vegetable oil and a standard type
available at gas stations, consumers will probably choose straight vegetable oil to save money. So the
transition to vegetable oil can happen gradually.