It is clear that biodiesel fuel can provide us with a lot of benefits. First of all, it is a renewable fuel and generally cleaner compared to fossil fuels. However, there are some factors that cause people still prefer to use regular diesel fuels. Biodiesel fuel is more competitive only when the oil price is high. Some people even attempt to make their own biodiesel fuel at home, although the overall quality of the result can’t be guaranteed. In reality, it is not that complex to make biodiesel fuel, as long as you have ample raw material for that. Even so, you may need to avoid doing this, if you are concerned that you will end up damaging your own car. As an example, used vegetable oil can be converted into biodiesel fuel. However, you need to use comprehensive filtration system to remove the smallest contaminants. It also needs to be processed further using methanol and lye.
Today, methanol is relatively affordable and for each gallon, you can purchase it for $4 in chemical supply stores. To produce five gallons of biodiesel, you will need one gallon of methanol. Sodium hydroxide or lye is available in hardware stores for $4 per pound. You need one pound of lye to produce 20 gallons of biodiesel fuel. It is often claimed that you can get one gallon of biodiesel fuel for less than $1. But it is true only if you get free oil. One example is to get used cooking oil from local restaurants. They will be glad to give the oil for you, because they don’t need to dispose it. The food industry is a good source for biodiesel fuel, although it may not be sustainable once biodiesel fuel becomes much more popular. Obviously, fresh frying oil is too expensive to be made as biodiesel fuel, so this is not the option.
At the moment, the cost of biodiesel fuel in the market is around $5 per gallon, depending on the country and region. As a comparison, the price of gasoline can be $1 or $2 cheaper. Despite the fluctuating crude oil price, it will eventually go up and biodiesel fuel will become more attractive. You may still use homemade biodiesel for your old truck and you need to get the cheapest sources of vegetable oil, methanol and lye. This will allow you to save money convincingly, compared if you purchase the fuel from the nearest pump. You should check the local prices for fossil diesel fuel and biodiesel fuel that are sold in your area. You will be able to achieve an overall savings. However, there are some early expenses that you need to know about. You need to learn how to make a good quality biodiesel and purchase the right kind of equipment.
Many truck owners are quite cost conscious, because their vehicles will need to a lot of fuel. Assuming that you can get oil for free from local restaurants, the cost for each gallon ready to use biodiesel fuel will be 75 percent lower than commercial fuel. You should also consider whether the process is time consuming. Used frying oil from restaurants can be incredibly dirty and the cleaning process itself can be tedious if you don’t use the right process.
