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Bio Diesel
Biodiesel is oil produced from crops such as Oil seed rape, sunflowers and soya beans. It is not carbon-neutral because the plants require extra energy and therefore carbon emissions to convert them to oil.
Bio diesels are a viable option as they are renewable and can be grown all over the world. The downside is that crop failures, natural disasters and demand could lead to issues with reliability and large price fluctuations.
Bio diesel can only be used on diesel vehicles and is usually available as a blend with standard mineral diesel. A commonly available blend is B5, which consists of 5% biodiesel blended with 95% mineral diesel. Higher percentage biodiesels are available, such as B20, B30 and B100. It is widely considered that you should make a one off change to the fuel filter once you have changed to bio diesel use. With so many bio diesel oil options and various blends it is easy to become confused as to what to use.
Unfortunately the future of biodiesels may not be promising as the consumer will have issues trusting the fuel and sourcing reliable supplies. It is likely biodiesel will only become widely used if people have no other option, such as if mineral diesel supplies run low or until serious effort is made by car manufacturers to make cars that run purely on bio diesel. If you wish to persevere it is important to study a vehicles warranty as not all models are suitable for B50 and B100 bio diesels.
For places to top up take a look at this list of biodiesel outlets.
Benefits:
- Carbon neutral
- Renewable energy
- Can be used in diesel vehicles without conversion
- biodegradable