Biodiesel Fuel

By Dennis James

Many consider biodiesel as the fuel of the future. It is hard not to have heard something about it, because more and more articles discuss its use. Biodiesel is mainly diesel that is not obtained by distilling oil, but from vegetable oil as well as some other sources. The market is settled with diesel cars and the moment to change the crude oil based diesel to the one obtained from natural sources has come.

There are many advantages of using biodiesel for your car over the traditional fuel. In the first place, a notable element is that biodiesel does not harm the environment. It is a lot cleaner to operate a biodiesel based car than a normal one, because the emissions are lower, and the traditional black smoke coming from oil-diesel is gone.

Another great benefit is that you can fuel your vehicle with biodiesel without having to perform any sort of complicated modifications to the engine. There are cases of people mixing biodiesel with traditional diesel fuel, and by doing this, they benefit from the new fuel’s advantage very easily.

The price of biodiesel is a lot lower compared to other fuels. You can even make it on your own and if you have the proper things, you will not have to go to the gas station at all.

Another benefit of using biodiesel to operate your car is that it is also more efficient than traditional fuels. Its cetane cumber is in excess of 100, which will make your vehicle to easy cold start and have a lower noise at idle revs. (The cetane number represents the quality of a certain igniting fuel type and the higher the number, the more efficient that fuel is).

Biodiesel can also extend your engine’s life. Because it has fewer impurities that traditional diesel fuels, it will not clog your filters that easily and in the same its lubricating properties are greater, protecting your engine. The power output of biodiesel will not be affected if you use it as the mainly source of power.

Producing these new fuels is cheaper and cleaner than drilling, refining and transporting traditional petrol diesel. Producing the same quantity of biodiesel compared to regular diesel will require less energy, thus making the entire process cleaner to the environment.

As the sources from which biodiesel is extracted (vegetable oil mostly) can be constantly regenerated compared to the hydrocarbon reserves the planet holds, it is a more viable option for the future. It also keeps the air cleaner, as it has lower polluting emissions. That is why more and more countries in the world turn their attention to biodiesel fuels as a replacement for the ever growing prices of traditional fuels. In Europe for example there are numerous biodiesel equipped stations already and their number continues to rise. More and more car manufacturers try to convert their new models to be able to take advantage of this new fuel. Right now, biodiesel is the best substitute for traditional petrol-extracted diesel fuel. Dennis runs Car Dealer Check which has reviews on Ohio Car Dealers including Toledo Car Dealers.

1-800-GOT-JUNK? And Isuzu Truck Partners To Test Biodiesel Fuel

By Lauren Woods

The largest junk removal company in Vancouver, British Columbia, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, partnered with Japanese commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturer Isuzu to test vehicles on the use of biodiesel. The Isuzu Commercial Truck of America recently announced that 1-800-GOT-JUNK? will be the first fleet in the country to test biodiesel in its fleet.

The biodiesel test program will run for six months, after which, the two companies will study the effect of using biodiesel on 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s truck fleet. Ten junk removal trucks were selected to use biodiesel for six months on different climate areas across the United States and Canada.

As early as today though, both companies expect that the outcome will be positive and the junk removal company will permanently switch to using biodiesel on their trucks instead of petroleum diesel. According to the junk removal company, they have over 1,000 Isuzu N Series and GMC W Series trucks in their fleet.

1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, Brian Scudamore, pointed out that their effort to test biodiesel on their trucks is an indication of their dedication to help protect the environment. “This test will launch our new Green Emissions Program,” says Scudamore. “We have always had a strong environmental conscience and have prided ourselves on cutting-edge recycling efforts. The growth of our business means it's time to take environmental initiatives to the next level,” he added.

Biodiesel is an equivalent to petroleum diesel but is made from biological sources such as vegetable oils. One clear advantage of using biodiesel is that it comes from a renewable source of energy. The widespread use of biodiesel can also reduces the energy dependence of the United States and Canada on foreign oil.

Due to the fact that it comes from virgin oil feedstock like rapeseed and soybean, it can be produced domestically. Another advantage of using biodiesel is that it is priced lower than petroleum diesel while providing the same amount of power output which can be enhanced further with the use of the Isuzu cold air intake system for the Isuzu trucks operated by the junk removal company.

The first of the ten biodiesel powered junk removal trucks was unveiled last month at the Pacific Economic Summit. During the unveiling of the vehicle, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger pointed out in his keynote address that the use of biodiesel by the truck “would cut greenhouse gas emission by thirty to forty percent”.

By using exhaust filtration technologies, the truck produces less carbon dioxide than trucks running on petroleum fuel. The use of diesel fuel in the United States has not been popular in decades due to its reputation of producing too much noise and too much black soot. New technologies though has made new diesel engines as smooth operating as gasoline engines. With the use of filtration devices and biodiesel, the production of greenhouse gas is significantly reduced compared to previous generations of diesel engines.

Isuzu is confident that the testing will promote the use of biodiesel not only on fleets but also on passenger diesel vehicles. “Isuzu is excited to participate with 1-800-GOT-JUNK? in this important test,” says Todd Bloom, the vice president for marketing at General Motors Isuzu Commercial Trucks. “We feel that biodiesel fuel has the potential to play an important role in lowering emissions, as well as reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”