Biodiesel: The future of fuel

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With the economic climate pinching at all levels, one of my mates has taken it upon himself to make his very own biodiesel. The blend still uses diesel fuel but at significantly reduced quantities. 

The ingredients for his unique blend consist of the following:  

He takes used vegetable "chippy" oil, combines it with engine oil (which also includes products like gear box oil, transmission oil etc) and filters it down to 3.5microns using Hoover vacuum cleaning bags. 

Then he adds diesel, a proportion of petrol, white spirit and cetane. The end result is a lovely mix of biofuel, which not only uses 75% less diesel but also uses products that would otherwise be discarded and possibly not recycled. 

With a 180L fuel tank, it costs me anywhere between £150 and £200 to fill my tank. With my mates biofuel, my costs would be reduced by 75%. So once the warranty is up on my rebuilt engine, I plan to try out his biofuel. 

He said he already uses his biofuel in his campervan, commenting that his exhaust smells distinctly like his local chippy.  


Location: London, UK

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