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When you choose to drive a car with an unmodified diesel engine you are, in effect, choosing a biodiesel-compatible car. Vehicles powered with biodiesel—fuel made from biological, sustainable sources such as vegetable oil and recycled cooking oil—release significantly less carbon emissions than vehicles powered with petroleum-based diesel.

Find it! Biodiesel-compatible cars

Diesel vehicles come in many shapes and sizes—from curvy compacts to sporty SUVs to heavy-duty trucks—just like their gasoline-guzzling, standard engine cousins. Listed below are cars that come with standard or optional diesel engines. For more on choosing a diesel vehicle see the Edmunds.com Diesel Center.

Before you buy

Although diesels are common in Western Europe (approaching half of new car sales today), and the eco-friendly biodiesel to power them is readily available, this is not the case in the US, where diesels represent only 3.5 percent of the auto market and the availability of biodiesel at the pumps is scarce.[1] The sale of new diesel vehicles is even banned in California, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont due to strict emissions standards. Yet as technology improves and consumer desire for fuel efficiency grows along with the price of gasoline, diesels are making a quiet, clean comeback. Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, and Audi all plan to introduce diesels domestically, complimenting existing models by Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen.

The price tag on a diesel automobile will be higher than a car with a standard gasoline engine due to their limited domestic availability and the additional technology that gives diesel engines excellent fuel economy while meeting stringent emissions standards established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For example, when purchasing a Volkswagen Jetta, opting for a diesel engine over a standard engine will add around $1,000.

How to get your hands on biodiesel fuel

Fueling your car with biodiesel won't be as effortless as filling it with petroleum-based diesel or gasoline as there are only an estimated 1,523 filling stations (as of August 21, 2007) that offer biodiesel blends—generally B20, a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petrodiesel—the most B20 biodiesel pumps being in Austin, Texas.

And for those who’ve heard the rumors: aside from biodiesel’s eco-perks, its exhaust possesses a distinctive odor (most commonly compared to that of french fries), a welcome change from the noxious black smoke associated with diesel exhaust, unless you take issue with driving behind a vehicle spewing donut-scented fumes. It seems only natural that traveling carnivals and fairs are beginning to power their attractions with B20. The rising cost of petroleum and environmental benefits are major factors in the maneuver but an added bonus: a whiff of exhaust generated by the Tilt-A -Whirl and the Ferris wheel isn’t too far off from that of fairground vittles—funnel cakes, popcorn, pretzels, and the like.

Finding a biodiesel station

By viewing a map of biodiesel retailers provided by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), it's obvious that the highest concentration of pumps are clustered in the Midwest. But you may be able to find some close to home with a few helpful services.

Using a comprehensive geocoding systems, NearBio is a service that allows drivers to locate nearby verified biodiesel retailers via cell phone or computer and plan trips using a Biofuel Route Wizard. Additionally, the Alternative Fuels Data Center provides a search engine giving consumers the ability to locate local fuel stations that offer alternative fuels like biodiesel as well as E85 and hydrogen. Price wise, biodiesel, like regular diesel, will cost you more at the pump than gasoline but is offset with superior fuel economy.

Make your own biodiesel

You needn’t own a fast food franchise or a soybean farm to fuel your car with homemade biodiesel made from recycled cooking and vegetable oil or animal fats. Journey to Forever offers a thorough DIY biodiesel production guide along with links to biodiesel recipes but take heed: at-home biodiesel production requires proper equipment and dangerous chemicals such as methanol to complete a process similar to soap-making called transesterification.

Biodiesel America features a map-based guide of domestic biodiesel cooperatives where members make their own biodiesel and/or buy it in bulk from distributors.

Choosing a biodiesel-compatible car helps you go green because…

• Biodiesel is produced from renewable resources such as soybeans and is less toxic than table salt and more biodegradable than sugar.
• A blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent petrodiesel can reduce carbon dioxide emissions as much by as 15 percent.[2]
• Choosing biofuel supports domestic agricultural efforts and reduces dependence on foreign oil.
• Biodiesel emissions contain no sulfur oxides or sulfates, contributors to acid rain. A blend of just 2 percent biodiesel and 98 percent diesel (B2) removes 3 million pounds of these pollutants from the atmosphere annually.[3]
• Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have passed health requirements established by the Clean Air Act.[4]

A progressively more accepted alternative fuel for vehicles with unmodified compression ignition (diesel) engines, biodiesel can also be used to power boats, trucks, buses, generators, and as home heating oil. Commercial consumption of biodiesel was 500,000 gallons in 1999, 15 million gallons in 2002 and 250 million gallons in 2006.[4]

Biodiesel possesses the same efficiency as standard diesel fuel while reducing air toxins as much as 90 percent. In terms of energy balance, it has the highest of any type of fuel: for every one fossil unit needed to produce biodiesel, 3.2 units of energy are created. In terms of energy performance, it has the highest energy content with 120,000 btus per gallon.[5]

Biodiesel’s non-toxicity and the fact that it biodegrades four times faster than its petroleum counterpart makes it ideal in marine environments, especially in the event of spills.It’s also not viewed as a threat to aquatic life. On land, the largest market for biodiesel are fleet vehicles, with over 100 companies and organizations such as the US Postal Service, NASA , and the US Air Force powering their fleets with biodiesel blends. Additionally, many cities are considering or actively using (Cincinnati being one) biodiesel in public transit systems.

Biodiesel production generates approximately 95 percent less toxic waste than petrodiesel production, but more than double the amount of nontoxic waste, usually in the form of unprocessed plant material.

Biodiesel blends

There are several biodiesel options from which to choose, some better than others. Vehicles with unmodified diesel engines have the ability to run on any combination of biodiesel and diesel fuel, although high levels of biodiesel may damage rubber parts in vehicles manufactured before the 1990s. B2, B5, and B20 are the most common biodiesel blends available for retail purchase in the US.

Although petrodiesel outweighs biodiesel in these blends, improvements in toxic emissions are notable. B20, for example, reduces hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, particulates, and soot by more than 10 percent each. Although it emits a higher level of pollutants, B2 benefits an engine’s health and longevity through lubricity.

One hundred percent biodiesel, B100, or neat biodiesel, provides the most impressive environmental benefits as it reduces most tailpipe emissions with the exception of nitrogen oxide. B100 also generally requires engine modifications and additives in cold climates.

Straight vegetable oil (SVO) and waste vegetable oil (WVO) are other alternative fuels frequently compared to biodiesel but differ—they haven’t gone through transesterification, require special engine conversion, and are not recognized by the EPA as safe or legal fuels.

Drawbacks

Although using biodiesel significantly eliminates most major greenhouse gases found in vehicle emissions, the presence of nitrogen oxide (NOx), a major contributor in the formation of smog, is increased up to 15 percent.[6] Biodiesel blends with high levels of biodiesel also turn from a liquid to a solid in cold climates, making storage and usage problematic.

Controversies

While biodiesel’s economic and environmental strengths as a renewable byproduct of homegrown agriculture are touted by many, critics see the shift away from fossil fuels as a risky one. Growing enough crops—soybeans, for example—could lead to deforestation to meet increasing demand. Substituting 5 percent of the domestic petrodiesel supply with biodiesel would result in 60 percent of the soybean supply being exclusively allotted to biodiesel production, restricting its role as a source of food and fiber.

This point is made explicit in a March, 2007 article published in The Guardian. Writer George Monbiot argues that the demand for crops as a fuel source will consequentially raise the price of crops as a food source, leading to widespread food shortages and starvation. Monbiot also asserts that the harvesting of palm oil in Indonesia for the European biodiesel market is responsible for rampant destruction of rainforests and the near extinction of the orangutan, adding that the burning of native forests to make way for palm oil releases ten times the amount of carbon dioxide as petroleum does into the atmosphere. He suggests discontinuing biodiesel and other biofuel production until more effective, large-scale production methods become available.

But changes in food supplies and deforestation aren't the only environment problems at issue. Given biofuel’s origin in crop-based agriculture, the issue of pesticide use and genetic modification have been brought to light.

Tax breaks and subsidies

Although drivers who fuel their cars with biodiesel do not receive as numerous perks and privileges as hybrid car owners, there are federal and state incentives and laws aiming to reward both consumers and producers of biodiesel fuel. See the Alternative Fuels Data Center for more specific information.

Glossary

• automotive fuel economy: Fuel economy in cars is important because carbon dioxide emissions are directly related to the amount of fuel burned. Mpg, or "miles per gallon," is the way most Americans measure fuel economy. (Europe, for example, uses l/100km or liters of fuel per 100km traveled.) To measure your fuel economy, fill your tank and reset the odometer. At your next fill-up, divide the miles traveled by the amount of fuel needed to refill the tank.
• transesterification: Transesterification is the chemical reaction between the esters of two different alcohols, resulting in ethyl acetate and methyl alcohol. In terms of biodiesel production, it is when glycerin (used in soap production) is removed from fat or oil, leaving behind methyl esters and glycerin.
• genetically modified organism: A GMO is created by merging the genetic make-up of two organisms, resulting in a desired byproduct that could otherwise not be found in nature. Engineering GMOs is a common practice in conventional farming, and studies have shown that GMOs pose significant environmental risks such as killing off living, natural organisms and becoming immune to pesticides.

External links

• AutoblogGreen
• Biodiesel and Ethanol Investing: Blog with insight into biodiesel and ethanol stocks and industry trends
• BioWillie: Willie Nelson-branded biodiesel
• Bio Beetle: Biodiesel car rental agency with locations in Maui and Los Angeles
• Biofuelwatch: Webpage of a group tracking the environmental concerns presented by biofuels
• Biodiesel America: Resources include listings of where to purchase biodiesel fuel and diesel cars, and locations of biodiesel cooperatives
• CNet News.com - Diesel dealers provide a pipeline to rare, green cars
• Co-op America - The Benefits of Biodiesel
• Green Car Congress
• Lovecraft Biofuels: Insightful homepage of biodiesel and vegetable oil conversion outfit with locations in Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon
• National Public Radio - Restaurant Grease Becoming Hot Target for Thieves
• The New York Times - Biodiesel Fuel Raises Hopes of Greening Cars
• TreeHugger - Bear Attacks Biodiesel Car
• Rainforest Action Network - Getting Real About Biofuels
• Union of Concerned Scientists - Clean Vehicles: Biodiesel
• US Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Fuel Blends