With the exception of small amounts of current waste oil, it’s not a sensible solution. (Consumes more energy than it produces.)
It is possible in the future to get biodiesel from algae, and that’s a very interesting and probably sensible thing to TRY. It has a decent chance of working well.
The biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with little modification. Biodiesel is a better solvent, so some regular diesel fuel lines will get soft and so have to be upgraded and replaced. Otherwise, the engine is unchanged. Since biodiesel is a natural product, it can go bad (rancid) just like vegetable oil. This is why it is normally sold as a mixture with regular diesel fuel.
The obvious advantage is that biodiesel is made from renewable resources. If you grow soybeans and convert them to biodiesel, then the carbon dioxide you release into the atmosphere can be absorbed by the next crop of soybeans, leaving the amount of CO2 constant. Disadvantages include the fact that we have to divert acres of farms from making food to making fuel. When you do this, the price of food goes up to the point where some poor countries cannot afford to feed their populations. This has been happening with corn recently.
Another advantage of diesel in general is that a gallon of diesel contains more energy that a gallon of gasoline. Roughly, a gallon of ethanol (alcohol) contains about 85% of the energy of gasoline and diesel has about 130% the energy. This is why a diesel engine will get better mileage and have a lower cost per mile than gas. Why do you think all the big trucks are diesel and not gas?
Eventually, however, both gas and diesel have to give way to electric. Internal combustion engines are only about 2% efficient. Of the amount of energy that’s in the gas or diesel, only a small part goes to moving the vehicle. The rest goes out as waste heat, tire friction, internal friction and unburned hydrocarbons. Even the dirtiest coal fired electric plant is better. Sooner or later the atmosphere will get so polluted that we’ll all be forced to go electric or choke to death.
Disadvantage
In order to create bio-diesels, vast amounts of forests must be burned to make room for the palm trees from which the oil is harvested from (this is of course assuming bio-diesel made from palm oil). This results in a lot of palm oil to create bio-diesels from, but also an enormous amount of greenhouse gases emitted. Although the trade off sounds like it might be good, the deforestation can result in up to 10 times as much carbon dioxide released per gallon than gasoline.
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Advantages:
It’s a renewable resource
It can be manufactured from used cooking oil, so it doubles as a way to reduce waste
With the exception of small amounts of current waste oil, it’s not a sensible solution. (Consumes more energy than it produces.)
It is possible in the future to get biodiesel from algae, and that’s a very interesting and probably sensible thing to TRY. It has a decent chance of working well.
The biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with little modification. Biodiesel is a better solvent, so some regular diesel fuel lines will get soft and so have to be upgraded and replaced. Otherwise, the engine is unchanged. Since biodiesel is a natural product, it can go bad (rancid) just like vegetable oil. This is why it is normally sold as a mixture with regular diesel fuel.
The obvious advantage is that biodiesel is made from renewable resources. If you grow soybeans and convert them to biodiesel, then the carbon dioxide you release into the atmosphere can be absorbed by the next crop of soybeans, leaving the amount of CO2 constant. Disadvantages include the fact that we have to divert acres of farms from making food to making fuel. When you do this, the price of food goes up to the point where some poor countries cannot afford to feed their populations. This has been happening with corn recently.
Another advantage of diesel in general is that a gallon of diesel contains more energy that a gallon of gasoline. Roughly, a gallon of ethanol (alcohol) contains about 85% of the energy of gasoline and diesel has about 130% the energy. This is why a diesel engine will get better mileage and have a lower cost per mile than gas. Why do you think all the big trucks are diesel and not gas?
Eventually, however, both gas and diesel have to give way to electric. Internal combustion engines are only about 2% efficient. Of the amount of energy that’s in the gas or diesel, only a small part goes to moving the vehicle. The rest goes out as waste heat, tire friction, internal friction and unburned hydrocarbons. Even the dirtiest coal fired electric plant is better. Sooner or later the atmosphere will get so polluted that we’ll all be forced to go electric or choke to death.
some advantages;
it is cheap if you make it yourself
you can make it yourself
lower emissions output
it is made from used cooking oil.
it can be used in any diesel powered vehicle with little or no modification
the disadvantages;
it is not available everywhere
if you make it yourself, and you take a trip, you wont have access to your machine to make the fuel.
one more advantage i thought of, if you are so inclined, you can make your own soap from the glycerin byproduct of making your own biodiesel.
advantage:
cleaner, more explosive, so bigger bang, more hp and torque, better performance, cheaper than ordinary diesel.
disadvantage, for now, you have to make it yourself.
Disadvantage
In order to create bio-diesels, vast amounts of forests must be burned to make room for the palm trees from which the oil is harvested from (this is of course assuming bio-diesel made from palm oil). This results in a lot of palm oil to create bio-diesels from, but also an enormous amount of greenhouse gases emitted. Although the trade off sounds like it might be good, the deforestation can result in up to 10 times as much carbon dioxide released per gallon than gasoline.