How Does Vegetable Oil Power a Car?

Can Vegetable Oil Fuel Any Car?

No, vegetable oil only works as fuel in diesel engines. Standard gasoline-powered internal combustion engines cannot use vegetable oil as fuel as the pressure inside the engine's cylinders is not high enough to get the oil to reliably combust. This is because gasoline engines rely on a spark plug to get the fuel inside the cylinders to combust at a lower pressure, as gasoline is far more flammable than diesel fuel or vegetable oil. A diesel engine on the other hand, runs continuously without the aid of a spark plug except on the initial startup of the engine. This is because the cylinder pressure-- the pressure applied to the engine's fuel within the cylinder prior to combustion--is much higher. This pressure compresses the mildly combustible vegetable oil into a far more volatile state until it explodes of its own volition in a manner no different than diesel fuel.

Are There Any Modifications Involved?

Yes. There are many ecologically oriented aftermarket car websites that sell kits to modify your car or tell you how to do it yourself with a few commonly automotive tools and supplies. Essentially the only thing you need touch is the fuel supply system. This is because vegetable oil can only combust when it is heated; this means you will need two gas tanks and a valve to allow you to switch between them at will. Traditionally the diesel tank is removed in favor of one that is half the normal size, so you can fit two smaller thanks in the same amount of space. Also a coil of heat conductive metal must be run from the heating system to the inside of the vegetable oil tank. The car must be started with ordinary diesel fuel and then switched over to vegetable oil when it has heated sufficiently. Likewise the car must be switched back to diesel and allowed to burn off all the vegetable oil in the engine prior to shutting it off, or else you will not be able to restart it.

How Efficient are Vegetable Oil Fueled Cars?

As far as fuel efficiency goes, vegetable oil provides a roughly equal number of miles to the gallon as diesel fuel. The immediate benefit is the low cost. Used cooking oil can be obtained from most any restaurant or fast food joint free of charge if you ask whoever's in charge; they just throw it away otherwise. The downside is that, while the production of greenhouse gasses are reduced, the production of smog creating nitrous oxide gasses is drastically increased. To this end, vegetable oil used as fuel may not be as good for the environment as initially believed.

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