There are at least 3 methods to run a diesel motor on biofuel using vegetable oils, animal fats or both. All 3 are utilized with both fresh and used oils.

1. Use the oil just as it is-- usually called SVO fuel (straight grease);

2. Mix it with kerosene (paraffin) or fuel, or with biodiesel, or mix it with a solvent, or with gasoline;

3. Convert it to biodiesel.

The first two methods sound most convenient, however, as so frequently in life, it's not rather that basic.

1. Mixing it

Vegetable oil is much more viscous (thicker) than either petro-diesel or biodiesel. The function of mixing it or blending it with other fuels is to reduce the viscosity to make it thinner so that it streams more freely through the fuel system into the combustion chamber.

If you're blending veg-oil with petroleum diesel or kerosene (exact same as # 1 diesel) you're still using fossilfuel-- cleaner than most, but still unclean enough, numerous would state. Still, for every single gallon of

vegetable oil you utilize, that's one gallon of fossil-fuel saved, which much less climate-changing carbon in the environment.

People utilize various blends, ranging from 10% vegetable oil and 90% petro-diesel to 90% veggie oil and 10% petro-diesel. Some people just use it that method, start up and go, without pre-heating it (which makes veg-oil much thinner), or perhaps utilize pure vegetable oil without pre-heating it, which would make it much thinner.

You may get away with it with an older Mercedes 5-cylinder IDI diesel, which is a really tough and tolerant motor-- it won't like it but you most likely will not eliminate it. Otherwise, it's not smart.

To do it appropriately you'll require what amounts to an SVO system with fuel pre-heating anyway, preferably utilizing pure petro-diesel or biodiesel for starts and stops. (See next.) In which case there's no need for the mixes.

Blends with numerous solvents and/or with unleaded gasoline are "experimental at finest", little or absolutely nothing is understood about their results on the combustion attributes of the fuel or their long-lasting effects on the engine.

Higher viscosity is not the only issue with using grease as fuel. Veg-oil has different chemical residential or commercial properties and combustion qualities from the petroleum diesel fuel for which diesel motor and their fuel systems are developed.

Diesel motor are high-tech makers with really accurate fuel requirements, specifically the more modern, cleaner-burning diesels (see The TDI-SVO debate).

They are difficult but they'll only take a lot abuse. There's no warranty of it, however using a blend of as much as 20% veg-oil of good quality is said to be safe enough for older diesels, especially in summertime.

Otherwise using veg-oil fuel needs either an expert SVO solution or biodiesel. Mixes and blends are generally a bad compromise. But mixes do have a benefit in cold weather condition.

Just like biodiesel, some kerosene or winterised petro-diesel fuel blended with straight grease lowers the temperature at which it begins to gel. (See Using biodiesel in winter season) More about fuel mixing and blends.