In the movie Back to the Future, Doc Brown whisks Marty away using a car that runs on banana peels and leftover beer.
Ordinary people might not have taken this scene seriously 30 years ago, but now there are people that actually use vegetable oil in their own cars. Some even have a contract with a restaurant to pick up the vegetable oil weekly and put it into their car; which is mutually beneficial as the restaurant can get free cleaning service and the car owners can get free and environmentally friendly oil. Vegetable oil can be used in diesel cars if it is slightly modified, and that modification is convenient enough that normal people can do it by themselves. It is surprisingly effective, renewable, and thus more environmentally sustainable than gasoline or typical diesel. One of the most dire problems in the 21st century is global warming: Earth is becoming sicker as technology gets better. While it is hard to prioritize one thing over another, converting to vegetable oil might become the first step in solving this big dilemma, as it is undeniable that gasoline cars contribute a great deal to climate change.
Vegetable oil is a rising source of fuel in cars with diesel engines. There are two types: pure plant oil (PPO) and straight vegetable oil (SVO). Either can be used in diesel engines with a few modifications to ensure that the engine doesn’t get clogged. There are a few ways of preventing cloggings. First, we could mix the vegetable oil with some conventional fuels such as petroleum diesel. This may decrease the level of viscosity of the fuel in the engine and lessen the clogging problem, but wouldn’t thoroughly get rid of it. An alternative is a two-tank system that uses petroleum diesel only when starting and shutting down the engine, allowing you to run on less viscous vegetable oil. In fact, there are two-tank conversion kits that are most widely used and most recommended around the world.
Two-Tank Conversion:
As can be inferred from its name, to run a car with a two-tank system, there should be an additional tank for the vegetable oil installed in the car. The essential goal here is to heat the fuel, so installations of tee fitting, hoses, and connectors are needed to circulate heat and keep the fuel hot from the tank to the engine. Furthermore, valves and switches are needed to ensure that the beginning and the end of the engine running is done by diesel fuel instead of vegetable oil. The start, with diesel fuel, will heat up the engine effectively and provide the optimum condition in which vegetable oil can work, and at the end, it will cleanse the vents and filter in the car from any leftover vegetable oil that might remain. This prevents potential clogging due to vegetable oil, especially on cold days when it could easily solidify.
How To?
To operate a vehicle with a two-tank system, you must initially start the vehicle on diesel fuel that is in one tank until the engine and the vegetable oil are warmed up. After about five to ten minutes, you may switch the vehicle to run on vegetable oil until it needs to be shut down. When it is switched to diesel fuel at the end, the vegetable oil in the fuel lines would be purged and the unused oil would flow back into the tank that stores vegetable oil.
This conversion kit is readily available globally, and can be installed by an individual with minimal mechanical abilities. Before purchasing the conversion kit, it is a good idea to check if your diesel can be converted, as there are few exceptions where the vegetable oil is incompatible with the engine. For example, vehicles with rubber seals are not recommended, as vegetable oil dissolves rubber. Fortunately, recently-made diesel cars don’t have rubber seals.
After the car is set up, the next step is to secure a reliable source of vegetable oil, whether you purchase a 55-gallon drum or compromise with a restaurant for the used vegetable oil. Oil from restaurants is adequate but there may be more work needed to make it thoroughly usable, as many of them most likely have food particles in it. This is generally not recommended because getting rid of small food particles that don’t get picked up by filtration is an arduous task, and oil that possibly contains water could seriously damage the engine. However, if you do want to get your oil supply from restaurants, it might be a good idea to go to Japanese or Chinese restaurants because their way of cooking provides the cleanest leftover oil.
Pros and Cons
The most compelling component of vegetable oil is that it is a renewable source of energy that is abundantly available in the world and also doesn’t pollute the earth as much as petrol or diesel engines do, as they don’t contain sulfur. In fact, harmful emissions are reduced to up to 60% if you use vegetable oil, compared to petro-diesel. They can also be produced locally, even at your own house, reducing the dependence on foreign oil for some countries and allowing citizens to be liberated from the constantly fluctuating oil prices.
On the other hand, many people are discouraged from using vegetable oil in their cars because of the cost involved in the modification of the engine, which ranges from $1000 to $3000. Furthermore, even when the necessary precautions are taken, vegetable oil can negatively impact the performance of the engine, which has caused some users to complain about the difficulties. The use of vegetable oil is only used by a small group of people that eagerly promotes the preservation of the environment. Because of the relatively undeveloped technology and low demand, it seems unlikely that this fuel will be provided commercially. This means that there would be no infrastructure, such as gas stations, that offer vegetable oil when you are traveling long distance.
Ideally, more people should strive to make use of vegetable oil to benefit local businesses and the environment. However, it is undeniable that there are a few significant drawbacks that prevent the majority from using it. Therefore, it would be most effective if well-known or public organizations could advocate for the use of vegetable oil and call for more research and extensive studies to improve the quality of vegetable oil in diesel cars. While it is unrealistic to convert all cars to use vegetable oil, just persuading a few people from each town will make a difference.
