バイオ燃料

バイオディーゼル燃料

自分で作ってみよう！　
バイオディーゼル燃料の作り方
マイクの「１段階　アルカリ方式」
アレックスの「２段階　アルカリ-アルカリ方式」
アレックスの「２段階　酸-アルカリ『Foolproof』方式

燃料製造器も自分で作る！
作り方

香港バイオディーゼル物語
排ガス中のNOxは問題か？
副産物グリセリンの活用法
バイオディーゼル情報集
ディーゼルに将来はあるか？
作物による植物油の収量と特徴
最後の仕上げは泡で洗う
バイオディーゼル燃料を使うときの確認事項
食糧vs燃料？
植物油そのまま燃料

ガソリン車にはエタノール燃料を
エタノール情報集
エタノール燃料はエネルギーを無駄にしているか？

バイオ燃料ML
バイオ燃料のオンライン図書館（英文）
バイオ燃料と燃料作り用具の入手先（英文）

植物油そのままを燃料に車を走らせるには

〜ディーゼル燃料としてのSVO〜

このサイトの日本語訳はまだ未完成です。最新情報は英語サイトStraight vegetable oil as diesel fuelをご参照ください。

はじめに
SVO basics
- Alphabet soup
- The choice -- biodiesel or SVO
- Fuel quality
The SVO problem
- 'Just put it in and go'
- Mixing fuels
- Veg-oil blends
Two-tank SVO systems
Single-tank SVO systems -- recommended
Journey to Forever's Elsbett SVO system
Two-tank SVO kit resources
The SVO vs biodiesel argument
SVO references
-- Jatropha
-- Coconut
Diesel information
Fats and oils
The TDI-SVO controversy

ジャーニー・トゥ・フォーエバーはドイツのElsbett社製マルチ燃料システムをトヨタ・タウンエースに取り付けて走っている詳細はこちら

はじめに

エステル交換など化学反応させず、植物油をそのまんまでディーゼル・エンジンの燃料として使うことは可能である。

ただし植物油(straight vegetable oil: SVO)は軽油やバイオディーゼルより粘度が高く（ドロドロしている）、またエンジン内で軽油と同じようには燃焼しない。そのため、そのままのエンジンを植物油そのままで稼働すると、エンジンを壊す恐れもある。

でも、純粋な植物油をディーゼル・エンジンの燃料としてトラブルなく安全に稼働する技術も発達している。信頼できるプロフェッショナルな燃料システムを取り付けさえすれば、植物油そのままを燃料にバイオ運転を楽しむことができる（下にいくつか紹介している）。

植物油や天ぷら油で車を走らせるには、いろんな方法が噂されている。たとえば、

1. そのまんまの油をそのまんまの車に給油して走るとか
   
   
2. 植物油と軽油や灯油を混ぜて、そのままの車に給油して走るとか
   
   
3. 植物油に有機溶剤の添加剤を加えるとか、「企業秘密。お金を払ったら教えてあげる」と販売されている薬品を加えるとか（いくつかの種類がある）、2割までのガソリンと混ぜてそのまま給油して走るとか。
   
   
4. 燃料タンクから燃料系統を2系列取り付け、軽油（もしくはバイオディーゼル）でエンジンを稼働し、走り出して油が温まったら植物油に切り替え、またエンジンを止める前に軽油（もしくはバイオディーゼル）に切り替えるというSVO2タンクシステムを車に取り付けるとか。

１と３は、まず論外でお勧めしない（詳しくはこちら参照)。４の2タンク方式については・・・実は私たちも油を熱して途中で燃料系統を切り替えるSVO2タンクシステムを数年前に入手して持っていたけれど、結局うちの車には取り付けなかった。軽油（バイオディーゼル）と植物油の２つの燃料系統を切り替えるということで機能するとは思うけれど、でも実際問題、ふつうに運転したいドライバーが頻繁に燃料系統を切り替えるなんて無理があると思うし、機能的にも調べれば調べるほど、2タンクシステムには疑問を持つようになった(詳しくは2タンクSVOシステム参照。)

植物油を温めてサラサラにしただけでは、ディーゼル・エンジンに適した燃料にはならない。そう考えているのは私たちだけでなく、植物油燃料の導入が進んでいるヨーロッパの専門家たちも多くが同意見だ。植物油そのままでディーゼル・エンジンを問題なく稼働するためには、植物油をエンジン内できちんと燃焼することができる特製の噴射ノズルやグロープラグなど、植物油に適した完全なシステムが必要。そういうプロフェッショナルなマルチ燃料システムはドイツで開発されており、この装置を車に装着すれば、ほんとに植物油をそのまんま燃料タンクに給油して走ることができる！

2005年の春から、私たちは平成2年登録のトヨタ・タウンエース(1.9L4気筒ターボディーゼル四駆ワゴン車)にエルスベット社(Elsbett Technologie)製の１タンクSVOシステムを取り付けた。このマルチ燃料システムのキットには、その車用に調整された特製噴射ノズルや強力なグロープラグ、燃料フィルタに取り付けるヒーター、並列に追加する燃料フィルタ、そして温度によってヒーターなどを管理する電子リレーなどが含まれている。このマルチ燃料システムを取り付けたら、ほんとに植物油をそのまんま燃料タンクに給油して問題なくディーゼル車を走らせることができる！

エルスベットのマルチ燃料システムを取り付けたディーゼル車は、燃料が暖まるまで数分も待つ必要もなく、途中で燃料系統を切り替える必要もなく、ふつうのディーゼル車と同じ感覚で運転することができる。それに「マルチ燃料」システムなので、SVO（植物油100％）だけでなくバイオディーゼルや軽油や、これらの混合燃料でも稼働できる車になる。

私たちが自信を持ってお勧めできるのは、プロフェッショナルな1タンクSVO燃料システムだけ。植物油をろ過して暖めりゃOKという人（や企業）もいるけど、植物油でディーゼル車をトラブルなく走らせ続けるには、プロフェッショナルな燃料システムが必要ということを、このページでじっくり説明している。

参考１タンクSVOシステム

参考Journey to Forever's Elsbett SVO system.

SVOシステム　基本の「き」

単語集・・・いろいろ出回っている略語の紹介

SVO(straight vegetable oil used as diesel fuel)ディーゼル・エンジンの燃料として使われる、エステル交換などの化学処理をしていない植物油そのまま燃料。ふつう料理に使っていないバージンの植物油を指すことが多い。日本では廃食油を意味する人もいる

PPO(pure plant oils, same as SVO) SVOと同じ。ヨーロッパではPPOと呼ばれることが多い

WVO(waste vegetable oil)料理に使われた揚げ油、天ぷら油、グリースなどなど。水分や揚げた肉や魚の油脂も混ざっていることが多い

UCO(used cooking oil)天ぷら油も植物性ばかりでないので、私たちは「廃食油(UCO)」の方が的確な名称だと思う。でもWVOの方が広く使われている

IDI (Indirect Injection diesel engines)副燃焼室式ディーゼルエンジン。燃料はまず副燃焼室(pre-chamber)もしくは渦流室(swirl-chamber)に噴射され、その後で燃焼室に送られる。渦流室式より副燃焼室式の方がSVOに適している

DI (Direct Injection diesel engines)直噴式ディーゼルエンジン。燃料は直接、燃焼室に噴射される。DIディーゼルエンジンはIDIディーゼルエンジンよりSVO燃料が苦手。(詳しくはThe TDI-SVO controversy参照)。DIにもいくつか種類がある：
TDI (Turbo Direct Injection)ターボ直噴式
CDIもしくはCRD (Common-rail Direct Injection)コモンレール直噴式
PDIもしくはPD (Pumpe D殱e Unit Injection)各インジェクターが独立したポンプを備えている直噴式

バイオ燃料で車を走らせる方法

ディーゼル・エンジンをバイオ燃料で稼働するには、基本的に次の2つの選択肢がある。

• 油をバイオディーゼルに作り替え、そのままのディーゼル・エンジンに使う（ほとんど改造不要）
• ディーゼル・エンジンに植物油で稼働するための燃料システムを搭載し、植物油はほとんどそのまま使う

実際にはそこまで単純ではない。たとえば、ほとんどタダの廃食油を燃料として使う場合は、バイオディーゼルを作るほどではなくても、それなりの処置をしなくてはいけない。いくらフィルターでろ過しても、エンジンには好ましくない廃食油のこともある。

バイオディーゼルが良いか、植物油そのまま燃料(SVO)が良いか、 詳しくはこちら。

バイオディーゼルの強みの一つは、どんなディーゼル・エンジンでも使えること。植物油そのままのSVO燃料も「この２タンクSVO燃料システムのキットを装着すれば、どんなディーゼルエンジンだって、どんな天候だって、廃食油で車を走らせることができる！」と言う人もいるけれど。。。

本当？？　たぶん、しばらくは動くかもしれない。でも、いつまで大丈夫？

気温が下がると植物油は結晶して個体のワックスになり、間もなく固まった植物油で燃料フィルタが詰まり始める。2タンクSVO燃料システムを冬でも使うための対策の一つとして、オリジナルの10マイクロ（もしくはもっと細かい）燃料フィルタの代わりに、冬場は30マイクロの燃料フィルタを使うと言う人もいる。フィルタが粗くなれば、油のワックスで詰まることもない。油は噴射ポンプの中で溶けるから、エンジンに負担も損傷もかけない。。。とのこと。

でも、熱で溶ける油だけじゃなくて、10マイクロから30マイクロまでの大きさの他の固形物も燃料フィルタを素通りして噴射ポンプまで送られることになるけど。

自分の愛車に、そんなことします？

2タンクSVO燃料システム（もしくはそのキット）を販売している人たちが言っている言葉：

「Greaselキットに付いてくるRacorフィルタは28マイクロまで濾すことができる。汚い廃食油を給油しても、Racorフィルタがきちんとろ過して噴射ポンプやエンジンを守ってくれるから大丈夫！」

対して、ディーゼル・エンジン噴射関係の専門家からのコメント：

「止めた方が良いね。もともとエンジンのためにそれだけ細かいフィルタが必要だから５〜10マイクロの燃料フィルタが入っているのだから」

噴射ポンプ製造会社Stanadyneからのコメント：

何時であれ、30マイクロのフィルタを最終燃料フィルタとして使うことは推奨しません。そのレベルのフィルタが最終であれば、噴射機器が摩耗したり詰まったりしてトラブルの原因となります。私どもは燃料フィルタとしては5マイクロのもの(Fuel Manager 5 Micron element)をお勧めします。コモンレールの場合はさらに細かい２マイクロのもの(Fuel Manager 2 Micron)を使われた方がよいでしょう」

ごもっとも。

ディーゼル・エンジンは長持ちするようタフにできている。ディーゼル車なら100万km近く走ることも不可能じゃない。でも、植物油そのまま燃料(SVO)がディーゼル・エンジンにどんな影響を与えるのか、それだけ長距離・長期間・総合的にじっくりと調べられたケースはない。どちらにしても「どんなディーゼル・エンジンでも大丈夫！」というのは言い過ぎだろう。

• 植物油(SVO)と相性の良いエンジンもあれば、あまり良くないエンジンもある
• 燃料として使うのに適した植物油もあれば、あまり適してない植物油もある
• 植物油(SVO)と相性の良い噴射ポンプもあれば、あまり良くない噴射ポンプもある
• トラブルフリーで稼働するSVO装置もあれば、イマイチのSVO装置もある
• コンピュータ制御されているディーゼル燃料システムには植物油(SVO)をまったく受け付けられないものもある
• 廃食油をエンジンの燃料として使うことに不安の声もある
• DI(直噴式)ディーゼル・エンジンで植物油(SVO)を使うことに不安の声もある

古いIDIディーゼル・エンジンはおおかた植物油(SVO)と相性が良い方だと言われている。特に1980年代のメルセデスベンツやフォルクスワーゲンとか。新しいDIディーゼル・エンジンもSVO化することはできるけれど、上手く機能するSVO燃料システムは限られてくる。１タンクSVO燃料システムおよびTDI-SVO論争も参照。

コンピュータ制御されている噴射システムより、機械じかけの噴射システムの方がSVOと相性は良い。多くのBosch製に見られるインライン噴射ポンプ(Inline injection pumps)はSVO燃料に適しているとも言われている。逆に、ロータリーポンプの物はSVO燃料を使わないほうが良さそう。Lucas/CAV噴射ポンプもSVO燃料では上手く稼働しないことが多い。

それからパーツに銅を含むSVO燃料システムは避けるべき。植物油が銅を腐食するのではなくて、銅が植物油を結晶化してしまうから。銅と植物油(SVO)についても参照のこと。

燃料にする油の品質も重要！

ディーゼル・エンジンの噴射ポンプの断面図。複雑かつ高価な機械

バイオディーゼルに作り替えるならかなり汚れた廃食油でも原料として使うことができるけれど、SVO燃料システムにそのまま使うためには、かなり綺麗かつ高品質な植物油が必要になる。たとえば、

「2001年秋に噴射ポンプが壊れてしまった。。。この車は2年間、トラブルもなくSVO燃料で走っていたけれど、ここにきて噴射ポンプを載せ替えることになってしまった。損傷部分を調べたところ、高圧力がかかる頑丈な鉄部品の部分が、圧力には強いけれど酸には耐えられなくかなり腐食していた」食品用に精製された油ではなく、かなり酸性がきつい大豆油を使っていたことが原因だと突き止められた。BioCar (ドイツ語):
http://biocar.de/info/warnung1.htm

ディーゼル・エンジンを稼働するSVO燃料とするには、新しいバージンの植物油が最適。ドイツには植物油(PPO)燃料の品質基準「Quality Standard for Rapeseed Oil as a Fuel」が定められている。この品質基準とSVOも使えるマルチ燃料システムを製造しているエルスベット社のコメントを併せて読むと、燃料にする植物油の品質かつ状態が重要ということが理解できる。

かなりきれいな状態なら、廃食油もディーゼル・エンジンの燃料として使うことはできる（ただしSVOシステムの保障範囲をチェックすること）

SVO燃料として使って大丈夫かどうか、廃食油の品質を調べるためには見た目や粘度だけでなく滴定がお勧め。滴定はバイオディーゼルづくりのときに油に含まれる遊離脂肪酸の量を調べるためにも使われている。数値が小さいほど、きれいな廃食油となる。

0.1%の水酸化ナトリウム(NaOH)水溶液で滴定したとき、結果が3.5ミリリットルを超える廃食油はSVO燃料として使わない方が良いと言われる。滴定の数値がそれより大きい油は酸性が強く、たぶん水分も含んでいる。酸も水もフィルタでろ過したくらいでは取り除けず、車の燃料システムにはご遠慮いただきたいもの。そういう油はバイオディーゼルの原料にしてエステル交換すればバイオ燃料として活用できる。

メーリングリストなどで世界中の経験者や専門家と情報交換した結果、私たちはNaOH水溶液の滴定3.5ミリリットルというのも、SVO燃料にするには高すぎると考えている。むしろ車に給油する植物油は滴定値が2.0ミリリットルより低い油を選びたい。エンジンを守るために軽油だってバイオディーゼルだって品質規格があるのだから、SVO燃料だって品質を規格するべきだ。でも今のところ、ドイツの燃料としての菜種油の品質規格しかない。そもそもこの規格はバージン油に限っており、廃食油はもとから除外している。

SVO燃料にするには、油の品質にこだわること

油の品質は見た目や色や臭いでわかるような気になる。でも、油とはそもそも複雑怪奇な物質。ましてや廃食油となると、外見からは判断を誤ることもある。

愛車にエルスベットの1タンクSVO燃料システムを装着した知人は、燃料の供給元を念入りに探し会社の食堂から廃食油をもらい受けることにした。大丈夫そうだからと言われたけど、私たちがその油を滴定したところ8.5ミリリットル(NaOH水溶液)という高い数値がでた。SVO燃料としてそのままディーゼル・エンジンに使うには汚すぎる油！　即刻、もっときれいな廃食油の供給源を探すことをアドバイスした。こういう廃食油は酸性すぎるし、水分も簡単には分離できない状態でかなり含まれている。

SVO燃料にする油は見た目や臭いだけで大丈夫と判断しないこと。SVO燃料の特徴をしっかり理解し、油のことを理解し、バイオディーゼル燃料を作らないにしても滴定の仕方を勉強して、SVO燃料にする油も滴定して調べるようにした方がいい。

乾いたらガチガチになる、乾性の高い油（ヨウ素価が高い油・・・ヨウ素価についてはこちらを参照。は燃料には適さない。こういう油は重合(polymerise) して、固いプラスチックみたいな固まりを作ってしまう。もちろんエンジンにとっては大迷惑。

食品用に精製されていない生の植物油は、脱ガム処理(degum)や脱酸処理(deacidified)をしなくてはいけない。詳しくはいろんな油脂についてを参照。

脱酸処理は、廃食油にもお勧め。酸を含んでいると噴射ポンプなどを腐食してしまうし、不純物が含まれていると詰まったり、腐食をひどくしたりしてしまう。廃食油を脱酸する方法を参考にして。もしくはその油はあきらめ、遊離脂肪酸が少ないもっときれいな廃食油を探した方がいい。燃料にする廃食油は水分を含まないこと。廃食油から水分を取り除く方法を参照。

廃食油を燃料に使う人はもともと噴射ポンプ用に取り付けられている燃料フィルタと同じゲージ（10ミクロンや5ミクロン、もしくはもっと細かい）まで前もって油をろ過していることが多い。

多くのSVOユーザーはオリジナルの燃料フィルタより上流に粗めのプレフィルタを追加し、段階的に油をろ過して最終的にはオリジナル燃料フィルタと同じゲージまでろ過する仕組みにしている人も多い。SVO燃料を使うときは、燃料フィルタの汚れをこまめにチェックすること。寒い季節は植物油がワックス状になって燃料システムを詰まらせてしまう恐れがあるので、特にこまめにフィルタをチェックすること。

ガソリンに比べると軽油は寒さに弱く、軽油に比べてバイオディーゼルは寒さに弱い。植物油そのままのSVO燃料は、バイオディーゼルよりさらに寒さに弱い。SVO燃料は、その油をエステル交換して作ったバイオディーゼルよりも高い温度で固まり始める。油とエステルの性質参照。SVO燃料の低温対策はバイオディーゼルと共通点が多いので、バイオディーゼルの冬支度を参照。一手間かけるなら冬向けのバイオディーゼルと同じ手法で、寒さに強めのSVO燃料を用意することもできる。

ディーゼル機関では、不完全燃焼の燃料がエンジンの潤滑オイルと混ざることがある。燃料に植物油を使うと、このSVO燃料（植物油）がエンジンの潤滑オイルを劣化してしまうことがある。そのため、SVO運転するときは、エンジンオイルの状況もこまめに調べた方がいい。SVOユーザーのなかには、お金を払って定期的にエンジンオイルの状態を調べてもらっている人もいる。

SVO燃料に関わるトラブル

The central problem in using vegetable oil as diesel fuel is that vegetable oil is much more viscous (thicker) than conventional diesel fuel (petro-diesel, DERV, "dino-diesel"). It's 11 to 17 times thicker. Vegetable oil also has very different chemical properties and combustion characteristics to those of conventional diesel fuel.

If the fuel is too thick it will not atomise properly when the fuel injectors spray it into the combustion chamber and it will not combust properly -- the injectors get coked up, leading to poor performance, higher exhaust emissions and reduced engine life.

There are many different approaches to solving the problem -- including not admitting that there is a problem in the first place:

'Just put it in and go'

Myth: Just put it in the tank -- any inline injection pump is happy on cold veg-oil, they don't mind starting on cold oil, especially with an older Mercedes.

We hear it every summer, we don't hear much of it in winter though. An experienced SVO'er summed it up on one of the Internet mailing lists:

"I am tired of hearing people say that they can dump veg-oil in an old Mercedes, do nothing, and it will be fine. It's abuse of a fine engine, it causes poor, smoky cold starts, the emissions will not be as favorable as they should be, and the starter, glow plug, lift pump, battery, and injection pump will all be subjected to higher than usual stresses."

We agree.

Mixing fuels

Myth: Mix it with diesel fuel or kerosene, then just put it in and go.

Examples:

• "I've been running a vegoil/diesel mix, 50/50 winter 70/30 summer."
  
  
• "I'm running on about 50% petro-diesel to 50% veg-oil, no problems!"
  
  
• "I use 90% WVO and 10% kerosene as my standard summer fuel."

Responses from seasoned SVO users:

• "Your cold starts will begin to deteriorate, your filter will probably start plugging, your injectors will get coked up, setting the stage for ring sticking, glazing of the cylinder walls, increased lube oil consumption and eventual engine failure -- if you can continue to get the thing started in the morning. More than 20% or so veg-oil in the diesel is not a good plan for more than short term 'experiments'."
  
  
• "Mixing veg-oil and diesel isn't advisable unless you heat all the fuel."

We've said much the same: "You'll need what amounts to an SVO system with fuel pre-heating anyway."

Veg-oil blends

A couple of years ago a cars program on British TV publicised a new way of using vegetable oil as diesel fuel -- "just add a spoonful" of solvent.

The solvent was white spirit (mineral turpentine), with 3% added to the veg-oil to lower the viscosity and also to lower the flash point so the engine would start easier.

It raised a lot of interest among novices, and a lot of scepticism among experienced SVO users: "experimental at best" and "steer well clear" were among the more polite comments.

Then it became a matter of secret formulas with a franchised network of paid-up Local Agents selling the additives, mostly in Britain. Recent comment at the British-based vegoil-diesel mailing list:

"The often mentioned 3% mix of white spirit does nothing other than make you think your 'modified' fuel is doing no damage to your fuel pump." (Oct 2005)

A look-alike or maybe an off-shoot of the British operation started selling a "diesel secret energy" additive in the US market claiming to make high-performance diesel fuel from WVO for only one-sixth the price of petro-diesel fuel.

More details here from some folk who believed it and paid their money:
http://greasecar.com/forum_topicview.cfm?frmtopicID=3349

The recipe: mix WVO with 10% kerosene, 5% unleaded gasoline, a cetane boost additive and the secret ingredient, which as SVO users discovered turned out to be... xylol paint-stripper and moth balls, long touted as miles-per-gallon improvers for gasoline engines.

Maybe it even works, but again, for how long? Where are the long-term test-results for safe use of these chemicals in "almost any engine" as claimed? As one source rather kindly puts it: "Long-term durability and detailed exhaust emissions data is incomplete." The same comments still apply: "experimental at best" and "steer well clear".

Adding gasoline to veg-oil is a more recent trend, with some people using mixes of 10-20% unleaded gasoline/petrol to 80-90% veg-oil.

Myth: "The point in mixing vegetable oil with unleaded gas/petrol is to reduce its viscosity so that it will move through the fuel lines and injector pump without heating even during the winter months."

The more important point is not so much how freely the fuel might move through the fuel lines and injector pump but how it burns when it reaches the combustion chamber, and little is known of the effects of these additives or of gasoline on combustion in a diesel engine along with unheated (or heated) veg-oil. As usual, there are no long-term results.

One user damaged the injector pump of his Vauxhall Astra TDI after using only 100 litres of a mix of 80% WVO, 10% denatured ethanol, 5% butanol and 5% gasoline. Injection pump manufacturer Bosch prohibits the use of any alcohol-blended fuel with the Bosch VP44 injection pump. Whether such cautions apply to other solvents being used as veg-oil fuel additives is unknown.

Two-tank SVO systems

With two-tank SVO kits one tank holds the vegetable oil and the other petro-diesel (or biodiesel).

The engine is started on the petro-diesel tank and runs on petro-diesel for the first few minutes while the vegetable oil is heated to lower the viscosity. Fuel heaters are electrical or use the engine coolant as a heat source. When the fuel reaches the required temperature, usually 70-80 deg C (160-180 deg F), the engine is switched over to the second tank and runs on SVO.

Before the engine is shut down, it must be switched back to petro-diesel and the fuel system "purged" of vegetable oil before switching off, so that there's no cold veg-oil left to coke up the injectors next time you start the engine. Some systems have manual fuel switches, some do it automatically.

One of the few truly scientific studies available found that veg-oil must be heated to 150 deg C (302 deg F) to achieve the same viscosity and fuel performance as petro-diesel: "Atomisation tests showed that at 150 deg C the performance of the rapeseed oil is comparable with that of the diesel oil." See the European Advanced Combustion Research for Energy from Vegetable Oils (ACREVO) study:
http://www.nf-2000.org/secure/Fair/F484.htm

That's double the temperature the two-tank SVO systems use. At only 70-80 deg C. veg-oil is still much more viscous than petro-diesel -- six times more viscous in the case of rapeseed oil (canola), the oil specified in the German SVO fuel quality standard.

Some two-tank kit vendors in North America admit that their systems are still experimental. They point to rising mileage figures by an increasing number of users, and the data is becoming quite impressive, but few cases yet approach the high mileages to be expected of diesel engines.

For long-term use, two-tank SVO kits are probably adequate for some or possibly many IDI (Indirect Injection) diesel engines with suitable injection pumps. Not recommended for Direct Injection engines. See The TDI-SVO controversy.

Whatever their technical merits and shortcomings, two-tank kits are better for longer-distance driving than for short stop-and-start trips.

See below: Two-tank SVO kit resources

Single-tank SVO systems

With professional single-tank SVO systems there is no waiting or switching fuels as with two-tank SVO kits -- start up and go, stop and switch off, just like any other car. The engine starts easily and burns cleanly from the start, even at sub-zero temperatures. (Supplementary heating is available for really cold conditions.)

Single-tank SVO systems are suitable for both Indirect Injection (IDI) and Direct Injection (DI, TDI, PDI) diesel engines.

The "secret" is specially made injector nozzles, increased injection pressure and stronger glow-plugs, in addition to fuel pre-heating.

Journey to Forever uses a single-tank SVO system. They're the only SVO kits we recommend.

They are made by three companies, all in Germany. They are:

Elsbett Technologie, who have more than 30 years at the forefront of using vegetable oil fuel in diesel engines.

VWP, Vereinigte Werkst閣ten f殲 Pflanzen嗟technologie ("combined workshops for vegetable oil technology"), founded about 12 years ago by former Elsbett employees.

WOLF Pflanzen嗟technik (WOLF vegetable oil technology) have been providing advanced single-tank SVO systems since the mid-90s.

Elsbett Technologie

Elsbett Technologie has been a leader in diesel technology for 40 years. By the 1970s the company had filed 400 patents, with worldwide licensing. Elsbett was the first to make Direct Injection diesel engines for passenger cars.

Elsbett began investigating vegetable oil as an alternative fuel with the Oil Crisis of 1973. In 1979 it started production of a pure vegetable oil-fueled engine, the Elsbett Multi-Fuel Direct-Injected passenger car diesel engine, a 3-cylinder, oil-cooled engine with Direct Injection and an integrated injection system (unit injectors, each with its own fuel pump) which ran on petro-diesel or straight vegetable oil. Elsbett began converting other diesel engines to run on vegetable oil or diesel fuel in 1980.

Elsbett Technologie single-tank SVO kits provide full modification for running a diesel car on pure vegetable oil, or on petro-diesel, or biodiesel, or any blend of the three. (Elsbett does not warranty existing fuel system seals etc for biodiesel compatability.) Includes Direct Injection diesels, doesn't include diesels with Lucas-CAV rotary pumps. One-year warranty on parts as well as any proven damage to the engine resulting from vegetable oil fuel use. Warranty limited to SVO, excludes WVO, but not limited to rapeseed oil.
http://www.elsbett.com/
http://www.eco-tuning.com/ (in German)
Email: info@elsbett.com
Elsbett SVO kits are optimised for each model of car, with single-tank or two-tank kits available for more than a 40 makes of car. See online catalog or fill in an online enquiry form:
http://www.elsbett.com/forms/ekit.htm

The Elsbett single-tank kit includes:

• Replacement injector nozzles manufactured by Elsbett, with the spray pattern and angle optimised for veg-oil. Injector pressure is increased by 5 to 10 bar depending on the type of engine.
• Replacement glow-plugs that are longer, get hotter and stay hot longer.
• Electric fuel filter heater plus coolant-powered heat exchanger as secondary heat source.
• Dual fuel filters.
• Oil temperature sensor.
• Relays for glow-plugs and filter heater.

Elsbett says a "technically skilled owner" can install the kits. You can do it if you're used to working on engines, have the usual mechanic's tools and can follow a wiring diagram, though you'll need access to an injector pressure tester (0-400 bar) to check the opening pressure of the injectors, or find a diesel mechanic to do it for you, or to do the whole job for you.

See Journey to Forever's Elsbett SVO system

Eilish Oils -- Elsbett single-tank SVO conversions in Ireland
http://www.eilishoils.com/pages/ei_engines.htm
An Eilish Oils Workshop with Elsbett's Alexander Noack:
http://www.eilishoils.com/pages/upgrades/fiat_duc.htm

Elsbett Workshop -- Report on an Elsbett workshop with Elsbett engineer Alexander Noack, by Rachel Burton of Piedmont Biofuels in Pittsboro, North Carolina, USA, March 22, 2004:
http://www.biofuels.coop/blog/archives/000066.html

Jim Burke reports on fitting an Elsbett single-tank conversion to his '98 VW A3 Jetta TDI, with Driver's Log:
http://ctbiodzl.freeshell.org/votdi.html
Pictures:
http://ctbiodzl.freeshell.org/vo_conversion.html

The Elsbett engine -- the 1979 3-cylinder SVO diesel motor designed by the late Ludwig Elsbett was a highly advanced true multifuel engine, and the forerunner of all DI diesels made today. Details:
http://www.elsbett.com/
gd/eteche.htm
More detail (in German):
http://www.elsbett.com/gd/etech.htm
News article about a Mercedes fitted with the amazing Elsbett engine (120kb graphic file).

VWP, Vereinigte Werkst閣ten f殲 Pflanzen嗟technologie

VWP, Vereinigte Werkst閣ten f殲 Pflanzen嗟technologie ("combined workshops for vegetable oil technology"), was founded about 12 years ago by former Elsbett employees. The company makes high-quality single-tank SVO systems with special injectors, special glow-plugs and fuel heating (they're not cheap). Includes Direct Injection diesels. German site, use Google translation.
E-Mail: v-w-p@t-online.de
http://www.pflanzenoel-motor.de/

VWP supplies single-tank SVO conversions for the German government-supported "100 tractors" program, with working tractors converted to use SVO in a three-year monitoring program. The tractors are the Deutz Agrotron series with advanced 6-cylinder PDI diesel engines.
http://www.deutz-fahr.de/english/traktoren/

WOLF Pflanzen嗟technik

WOLF Pflanzen嗟technik (WOLF Vegetable oil technology) has been providing advanced single-tank SVO systems since the mid-90s. WOLF has SVO systems for Direct Injection diesels, and has raced a 245 km/h Audi A3 Pumpe D殱e PDI running on SVO in 24-hour endurance races at N殲burgring. German site, use Google translation.
E-Mail: service@pflanzenoeltechnik.de
http://www.wolf-pflanzenoel-technik.de/

The Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in Denmark holds regular SVO workshops for installation mainly of Elsbett and VWP single-tank SVO systems. Converted cars:
http://www.folkecenter.dk/plant-oil/converted_cars_examples.htm
Danish SVO Workshop
http://www.eilishoils.com/pages/dk_wshop_2005.htm

Niels Ansｿ of the Folkecenter reported to the Biofuel mailing list on using single-tank SVO systems with both DI and PDI diesels:

"Using SVO in TDIs and PDIs it not an issue when using proper conversion technology and proper SVO fuel quality, meeting the limits specified e.g. in the German RK standard. Proper conversion includes injectors, glow plugs, timing and other fuel settings.

"See some single-tank SVO cars here. We have made 65 so far. http://www.folkecenter.dk/plant-oil/converted_cars_examples.htm

"We have converted several TDIs and one PDI with SVO single-tank systems plus heater (boiler) for winter starts. The PDI is a Lupo 3L 1.2, and has been running on Faroe Island for more than a year now.

"Some of the TDIs have passed two years and about 100,000 km. We have imported one TDI from Germany with more than 330,000km on SVO with a single-tank system.

"Two weeks ago I tried the new VW Touran 2.0 PDI (4 valves/cyl) with a single-tank SVO system. It was very convincing, both the start and driving. The German company who converted it (VWP) claims that they make the type emission approval for all their conversions, which for this car is EURO4.

"SVO professionals claim that the high injection pressure with PDIs is not an issue. If you study the German '100 tractor programme' (VWP) you will see that some of the most successful conversions use PDI technology.

"The 'original' 3-cyl 1.5 liter Elsbett Multi-Fuel engine had a PDI system 30 years ago, so it is not new."

See: The TDI-SVO controversy

The professional single-tank systems are the only SVO systems suitable for "any diesel".

Other single-tank systems

We've emphasised that these are professional SVO systems. Not all single-tank SVO systems available can be termed professional.

Some people are using do-it-yourself single-tank schemes with electrical pre-heating for the fuel and different OEM injector nozzles with a different spray angle, which are said to be better for SVO. Hotter glow-plugs are also available.

It can be done, some of the DIYers have built efficient single-tank SVO systems this way. But in other cases some of the OEM injector nozzles have resulted in broken glow-plugs. The professional single-tank SVO injector nozzles are specially made, there are no OEM versions available.

Unlike biodiesel, Journey to Forever does not provide further resources for building Do-It-Yourself single-tank SVO kits.

Two years ago North American two-tank SVO kit suppliers Neoteric Biofuels (aka PlantDrive.com), having bought single-tank kits from Elsbett, announced their own new "SINGLETANKｩ systems, available for many VW and Mercedes models". The kit included modified injectors and was claimed to be easy to install, with an expensive Racor filter so you didn't need to pre-filter the oil (WVO) -- "better than Elsbett", they claimed at various Internet mailing lists.

Two years later the Neoteric single-tank kit is available only for the older pre-chamber Mercedes IDI diesels and apparently now includes only the filter and a fuel pre-heater. The Neoteric website now says "special injectors are not needed" and warns that their single-tank kit is only for use in above-freezing weather. It seems to be just a two-tank kit with only one tank. Nothing further has been heard of the first Neoteric SINGLETANKｩ systems with the modified injectors or of any diesels that used them.

More recently, new single-tank SVO kits emerged in Japan, for using WVO in older swirl-chamber IDI diesel engines. They were marketed by WOI (Waste Oil Injection), run by an electronics engineer and the owner of a small diesel injection workshop. They had bought an Elsbett kit and helped install two others. WOI's dual heating system is similar to Elsbett's, they also use longer glow-plugs, but instead of replacing the injectors the WOI method is just to raise the injector pressure by 20 bar (Elsbett raises it 5-10 bar).

Having destroyed a VW Golf 3's fuel filter on one of their Elsbett installations because for some reason they'd installed only half of the Elsbett dual filter system, WOI's new kit replaces the standard 10-micron or less final fuel filter with a stainless steel mesh filter of about 60 microns, "which will not be damaged by the high viscosity of vegetable oil" (nor indeed by trying to push cold veg-oil through half a filter system). They claim to have made eight installations of their system so far, but three of those were probably Elsbett systems.

On the strength of all this WOI applied for a major national environmental technology award in Japan, claiming original development of their carbon-saving technology.

Elsbett aside, this is what Stephan Helbig, an experienced SVO user in Germany, says at his (English-language) website:

"How it works with veg-oil: Pre- and whirlchamber [swirl-chamber] engines are mostly unproblematic. Out of experience, simple prechambers start better with veg-oil than whirlchambers. Therefore whirlchamber engines are often fitted with 4mm longer glow plugs and an after start heating relay that will keep the plugs at heat for up to a further 3 min. For both it is recommendable to increase the spray of the injectors by raising the opening pressure by about 20 bar." -- "Basics about Diesel Injection and Vegoil"
http://people.freenet.de/sthl/poel/E/technikE.htm

WOI's original technology has in fact been in the public domain for quite a while. Pity about the massive-gauge 60-micron final fuel filter, you might as well filter it through a tennis racket.

There are likely to be more such single-tank SVO kits emerging on the market as the biofuels message spreads. For the time being at least, best stay with the professional German single-tank SVO kits.

Two-tank SVO kit resources

See Two-tank SVO systems, above.

Elsbett Technologie supplies two-tank SVO kits as well as single-tank kits, depending on the model. Elsbett SVO kits are optimised for each model of car, with single-tank or two-tank kits available for more than a 40 makes of car. See online catalog or fill in an online enquiry form:
http://www.elsbett.com/forms/ekit.htm
http://www.elsbett.com/
http://www.eco-tuning.com/ (in German)
Email: info@elsbett.com

BEWARE of people selling plans online for cheap Do-It-Yourself two-tank SVO solutions. You could end up paying good money for filter system plans that tell you to use an old pair of jeans (it's happened).

Diesel-Therm (German pages with English version) -- ATG Vegetable Oil-Kit, uses electric continuous-flow heater.
http://www.diesel-therm.com/veggie-kit.htm

Biodrive -- Swiss two-tank SVO kit with microcomputer-controlled fuel switching.
http://www.biodrive.ch/

BioCar -- Dual-tank straight vegetable oil system from G. Lohmann in Munich, Germany. Computerized controller monitors fuel, adding petro- or biodiesel before the injection pump to adjust the viscosity. German-language site with on-site translation.
http://www.biocar.de/home.htm

German company Aetra makes two-tank SVO systems with automatic fuel management via micro-computer controls.
http://www.aetra.de/index.php

Greasel -- US coolant-heated two-tank SVO kits. Claims kit is suitable for "Direct injection, Indirect injection, Common rail, VE, Rotary inline, unit injectors, Computer controlled". Maybe, or maybe not. See The TDI-SVO controversy. See also above.
http://www.greasel.com

Frybrid -- US-made two-tank SVO kit with computer-controlled fuel switching. Uses aircraft aluminum heated fuel lines, but the brass parts might not be such a good idea. See Copper and SVO.
http://www.frybrid.com/

Smartveg -- UK-made two-tank SVO system with computer-controlled fuel switching.
http://www.smartveg.com/

See: Fuel heaters, filters

SVO vs biodiesel

See The SVO vs biodiesel argument

References

Report of the European Advanced Combustion Research for Energy from Vegetable Oils (ACREVO) study of the use of straight vegetable oil as diesel fuel. Investigates the burning characteristics of vegetable oil droplets from experiments conducted under high pressure and high temperature conditions. Very interesting study, worth a thorough read (4,400 words).
http://www.nf-2000.org/secure/Fair/F484.htm

Straighter-than-straight vegetable oils as diesel fuels, Michael Allen, Visiting Professor, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand: What happens when you try to run a diesel motor on crude palm oil.

Palm Oil as a Fuel for Agricultural Diesel Engines: Comparative Testing against Diesel Oil, by Gumpon Prateepchaikul and Teerawat Apichato of Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. Comparative tests of indirect injection agricultural engines fueled by diesel and refined palm oil and operating continuously at constant 75% maximum load and speed of 2,200 rpm.

German PPO fuel standard: "Quality Standard for Rapeseed Oil as a Fuel"

Unmodified Vegetable Oil as an Automotive Fuel by Peder Jensen, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, one of the seven institutes making up the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. "Since the 1970s dedicated work has been carried out on modifying diesel engines to adapt them to run on unmodified or 'straight' vegetable oil (SVO). This has proven that the concept works well. There are however a number of structural barriers to the success of this fuel in the market place which must be addressed if the fuel is to find a role in the fuel supply of the future." 3,800-word report:
http://www.jrc.es/pages/iptsreport/vol74/english/TRA1E746.htm

The final version of the European biofuel directive, Directive 2003/30/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2003 on the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, L 123 Volume 46, 17 May 2003, accepts SVO as a biofuel: "Pure vegetable oil from oil plants produced through pressing, extraction or comparable procedures, crude or refined but chemically unmodified, can also be used as biofuel in specific cases where its use is compatible with the type of engines involved and the corresponding emission requirements." Acrobat file, 124Kb:
English
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/
2003/l_123/l_12320030517en00420046.pdf
German
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/de/oj/dat/
2003/l_123/l_12320030517de00420046.pdf
French
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/fr/oj/dat/
2003/l_123/l_12320030517fr00420046.pdf
Spanish
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/es/oj/dat/
2003/l_123/l_12320030517es00420046.pdf

"Technical Overview of Vegetable Oil as a Transportation Fuel", 1991, Charles L. Peterson and Dick L. Auld, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Idaho -- see section concerning Fuls, South Africa, indirect injection engines: Fuls. J., Hawkins, C.S. and Hugo, F.J.C., 1984, "Tractor Engine Performance on Sunflower Oil Fuel," Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 30:29-35. Download (Acrobat file, 2152kb):
http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/reportsdatabase/
reports/gen/19910101_gen-292.pdf

Use of Raw Vegetable Oils as Diesel Fuel Replacements -- University of Idaho: "... most research with raw vegetable oils have shown reduced engine life due to polymerization in the ring belt area and in some cases lubricating oil thickening, reduced bearing life or even sudden catastrophic failure..."
http://www.uidaho.edu/bae/biodiesel/rawoils.html

Using Unmodified Vegetable Oils as a Diesel Fuel Extender -- A Literature Review by Sam Jones and Charles L. Peterson, University of Idaho, September 2002: "When tested in long term tests blends above 20 percent nearly always result in engine damage or maintenance problems... many researchers have been involved in testing programs designed to evaluate long term performance characteristics. Results of these studies indicated that potential hazards such as stuck piston rings, carbon buildup on injectors, fuel system failure, and lubricating oil contamination (Pratt, 1980) existed when vegetable oils were used as alternative fuels... Engine tests showed that carbon deposits in the engine were reduced if the oil was heated prior to combustion. It was also noted that carbon deposit levels differed for oils with similar viscosities, indicating that oil composition was also an important factor." 4,600-word report. (Word document, 56kb):
http://www.uidaho.edu/bae/biodiesel/
raw%20vegetable%20oils_literature%20review.doc

Review: Utilization of Rapeseed Oil, Rapeseed Oil Methyl Ester or Diesel Fuel -- Exhaust Gas Emissions and Estimation of Environmental Effects, by J殲gen Krahl, Axel Munack, M歿it Bahadir, Leon Schumacher and Nancy Elser, 1996. This report is a review of emissions tests of rapeseed oil and rapeseed methyl esters biodiesel using the US FTP-75 tests or European ECE-15 13 and 5 tests. Emissions are categorized and compared with petroleum diesel fuel in different types of diesel engines. Section 2 on Engine Testing Procedures and section 3, "Environmental Effects of the Main Exhaust Gas Components", are well worth a read in their own right.

Suitability of used fats and oils as a diesel engine fuel, by Rudolf Sagerer, Munich 1999 -- in German, German Army university degree paper, 145 pages. The study used a two-tank system and various kinds of WVO. Interesting information on emissions -- at high load the emissions and power are better than with Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel fuel (ULSD), and at part load and low load worse. 1.2Mb Acrobat file.

Vegetable Oil as a Fuel by Darren Hill -- online report, mainly UK-based: The Diesel Engine, Theory of Vegetable Oil Use as a Fuel, Engine suitability, Heating the Oil, Biodiesel, Micro Emulsions and Blends, Vegetable Oil Engine Design, Vegetable Oil Furnaces and Heaters, Oil Types and Filtering, Taxation, Implications of Vegetable Oil Fuel Use, Sources. Welcomes contributions from users.
http://www.vegburner.co.uk/

Datenbank des Forums 'Fahren mit Salat嗟' (Database of the forum 'driving with salad oil') -- This German database has information on hundreds of cars using veg-oil.
http://www.poeltech.de/database/

SVO Database -- for vehicles running on SVO (straight vegetable oil), or a blend of SVO. Users can enter their own information according to vehicle type, pump, fuel system used, etc. Good and bad experiences welcome. Open access with free password. Hopes to show which vehicles are the most successful based on mileage and quality of fuel used.
http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/fuelsdatabase/database/index.php

Copper and SVO: "I'm not so worried about the copper but what the copper does to the fuel. Did you ever check what happened to your fuel properties like oxidation stability and acid value? A lot of research has been done in Germany on VO (and biodiesel) fuel properties, and who I consider as the leading experts clearly warn against using copper in connection with VO because of the catalytic effect it has on the VO. The laboratory ASG Analytik-Service (http://www.asg-analytik.de), who were involved in the research leading to the "Rape Seed Oil Fuel Standard", says that just a few PPM of copper in VO will change the oxidation stability... [In SVO systems] with a catalytic metal, I think you have the best conditions and environment for decomposition of the VO, and the effects it has on the fuel properties again have an impact on the engine performance, engine conditions (lifetime) and emissions composition." -- Niels Ansｿ, Folkecenter, Denmark

Effects of copper on SVO: Standardisierung von Raps嗟 als Kraftstoff - Untersuchungen zu Kenngr喘en, Pr歿verhafen und Grenzwerten, by Edgar Remmele, thesis on vegetable oil as fuel -- see pp 144-146 for the effects of copper on vegetable oil. Acrobat file, 1.4Mb - in German.
http://tumb1.biblio.tu-muenchen.de/publ/diss/ww/2002/remmele.pdf

Waste Vegetable Oil as a Diesel Replacement Fuel -- 6,500 article by Phillip Calais, Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia, and AR Clark, Western Australian Renewable Fuels Association
http://www.shortcircuit.com.au/warfa/paper/paper.htm

Biodiesel: The Use of Vegetable Oils and Their Derivatives as Alternative Diesel Fuels, G. Knothe, R.O. Dunn, and M.O. Bagby, in Fuels and Chemicals from Biomass. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society. Download full-text article:
Acrobat file, 912kb
MS Word file, 212kb

Operation of a Diesel Engine Using Unrefined Rapeseed Oil as Fuel, Chiyuki Togashi, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Miyagi Agricultural College, and Jun-ichi Kamide, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, Japan. Report of tests with unrefined rapeseed oil in a small diesel engine on short-term performance, long-term operation and no-load continuous operation using deacidified oil, degummed oil and crude oil.
http://ss.jircas.affrc.go.jp/engpage/jarq/33-2/Togashi/togashi.html

Results of engine and vehicle testing of semi-refined rapeseed oil, Kevin P. McDonnell, Shane M. Ward & Paul B. McNulty, University College Dublin, Dept of Agricultural & Food Engineering, Dublin, Ireland.
http://www.regional.org.au/au/gcirc/6/214.htm

Eignung von aufbereiteten Altfetten zum Betrieb eines Dieselmotors (Suitability of treated used fats as a fuel for diesel engines), Dipl. Ing. Olaf Soyk, 1999, 145 pages -- a.k.a. the "Biocar thesis". Acrobat file, 1305Kb, in German.
Part English translation: a summary of all important diagrams and charts of the "Biocar thesis", translated by Stephan Helbig: "There are no further comments of what is shown here. If you want to know more about the evaluation of these results, maybe contact Biocar. Biocar offers a heated dual tank vegoil conversion kit that is also made for use of solid, used fats. Anything in this paper assumes a Biocar kit."
http://www.vegburner.co.uk/biocar.html
Biocar:
http://biocar.de/

Jim Burke's TDI vegoil conversion -- "Due to the continued price increases of biodiesel, I have decided to convert my '98 Jetta TDI to vegetable oil. The price of biodiesel has gone up over 40% in a little over a year. A kit was recently made available from Elsbett Technologie for vegetable oil conversion of TDIs. Assuming I use waste fryer oil and my time is free, I should recover the cost of the kit in just over one year. I'll document my experiences here."
http://ctbiodzl.freeshell.org/votdi.html

"Research into Biodiesel Kinetics and Catalyst Development", by Adam Karl Khan, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland, 17 May 2002: Some useful information on SVO -- Acrobat file, 432Kb:
http://www.cheque.uq.edu.au/ugrad/chee4001/
CHEE400102/Adam_Khan_Thesis.pdf

Comparison of Transport Fuels -- Final Report (EV45A/2/F3C) to the Australian Greenhouse Office on the Stage 2 study of Life-cycle Emissions Analysis of Alternative Fuels for Heavy Vehicles, by Tom Beer, Tim Grant, Geoff Morgan, Jack Lapszewicz, Peter Anyon, Jim Edwards, Peter Nelson, Harry Watson & David Williams -- CSIRO in association with The University of Melbourne, the Centre for Design at RMIT. Parsons Australia Pty Ltd and Southern Cross Institute of Health Research.
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/transport/comparison/index.html
Part 1 provides a summary of the salient points of each fuel, Part 2 consists of detailed chapters on each fuel.
Executive Summary - (Acrobat file 186Kb)
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/transport/comparison/pubs/execsummary.pdf
Part 1 Canola - (Acrobat file 12Kb)
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/transport/comparison/pubs/1ch5.pdf
Part 2 Canola - (Acrobat file 24Kb)
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/transport/comparison/pubs/2ch5.pdf

The Ricardo report: "UK Department for Transport Biofuels Evaluation - Final Report of Test Programme to Evaluate Emissions Performance of Vegetable Oil Fuel on Two Light Duty Diesel Vehicles", 7 November 2003, by Diance Lance, Jon Anderson, Ricardo Consulting Engineers. Compared with Ultra Low Sulphur diesel fuel (ULSD), emissions with SVO were much higher: "VVO showed increases in HC emissions of ~250% and CO emissions of ~420% in the VW Passat and increases in HC and CO emissions of 170% and 60% repectively in the Peugeot 106, compared to baseline ULSD." Other emissions were also higher. The report has apparently had a negative effect on the UK government's attitude to SVO use. It has been strongly criticised -- see next for comments from Niels Ansｿ of the Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in Denmark. Ricardo report, Acrobat file, 2.1Mb:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/
documents/page/dft_roads_027622.pdf

Why the Ricardo report is just another useless report! -- Niels Ansｿ of the Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in Denmark issues a persuasive rebuttal to the negative findings on SVO emissions in the Ricardo report -- worth reading in full for a better understanding of how SVO fuel works. 2,100 words.

Examination of Pure Plant Oil as a Transportation Biofuel ﾐ Experiences and Potentials, by Darren Hill. A critical examination of the Ricardo report (above).
http://www.vegburner.co.uk/examppo.htm

SVO emissions bibliography -- Compiled by Wolfgang Rougle from the 55-page bibliography of the Iowa State biodiesel course. This larger bibliography covers all research aspects of biodiesel and some non-emissions aspects of SVO, and may be useful to you. It can be found at:
http://www.me.iastate.edu/biodiesel/Bibliography/bibliography.html

Jatropha

The Jatropha System -- An Integrated Approach of Rural Development in Tropical & Subtropical Countries. Based on using jatropha oil as fuel -- a selection of papers and information on the use of the Jatropha curcas tree. See "Literature":
http://www.jatropha.org/

Jatropa curgas -- Minor oil crops, FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin No. 94, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 1992
http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5043E/x5043E0d.htm#Jatropa%20curgas

Jatropha at the Mali-Folkecenter -- MFC has been working with Jatropha in Mali since 1999, focusing on Jatropha production and use, planting, use as a living hedge, soap making, multi-functional platforms, as diesel-fuel substitute. Information on jatropha, properties, cultivation, the Jatropha multi-task energy platform, MFC Jatropha Projects.
http://www.malifolkecenter.org/lowersection/
Dep3_NRM/jatropha/mfc_jatropha_intro.html

Pushing back the barriers to sustainable development -- An example from Mali, West Africa, by Kate Burrell. report on local energy self-reliance technology transfer by the Mali-Folkecenter, with 1920s-style Lister diesels, a Nepalese plant-oil press, and oil from jatropha trees. 344kb Acrobat file:
http://www.malifolkecenter.org/lowersection/
pressreleases/Jatropha%20article%20MFC.pdf

Conversion of pick-up to run on jatropha oil -- Conversion of Mali rural energy NGO MFC's Toyota pick-up to run on jatropha oil. In a simple procedure taking only 1 day of work, the car's standard 2.8-litre diesel engine was converted to run on jatropha (pourghere) oil by an engineer from the German company Elsbett at a workshop in Bamako, Mali.
http://www.malifolkecenter.org/lowersection/
Dep5_TD/dep5_TD_pick-up%20conv.html

India's Center for Jatropha Promotion
http://www.jatrophaworld.org/

Jatropha oil as household energy -- A critique of Jatropha in India by Ashden Award winner, Pune-based botanist Dr. A. D. Karve, president of the Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI) in Maharashtra, India.
http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/msg48290.html

Jatropha curcas is one of many useful oilseed crops but it's no magic bullet, and it has its disadvantages:

• "Various "pro-jatropha" websites easily talk about 6 tons of jatropha seed yield, or more, per hectare. Most of these sites are from programs in India. If you actually e-mail someone growing jatropha, or read message boards, there are disquieting sentiments that yields may be considerably less, as in less than one ton per hectare." (Inquiry from Journey to Forever website visitor.)
  
  
• "I grew Jatropha in Ruwa, about 30 km from Harare, and they did quite well there. What I found with them is the seed is very difficult to get out of the outer shell but maybe you can invent or buy a machine to do that part of the job. Have you thought of using Leucaena?" -- Jed, Mozambique, Biofuel mailing list, Oct 2005
  
  
• "Jatropha is hardy and has a highish yield but it's also toxic. The seedcake (what's left after pressing) cannot be fed to animals. Why not convert it to biodiesel? It's better in the long run." -- Duncan, South Africa, Biofuel mailing list, Oct 2005

There is no magic bullet. The one that gives the best results is the one that fits the local circumstances best, and the more local the better.

Coconut oil

Coconut Crude - Vanuatu, February 2004 -- 2,600-word article on using coconut oil as vehicle fuel in the Pacific islands
http://www.tve.org/ho/doc.cfm?aid=1431&lang=English

In Vanuatu, a proving ground for coconut oil as an alternative fuel -- Entrepreneur Tony Deamer shows that pure coconut oil can be used as an alternative to petroleum in automotive diesel engines. The result is an environmentally friendly fuel that might also help the local economy. April-June 2003
http://www.onecountry.org/e151/e15101as_Deamer_profile.htm

The Effect of Coconut Oil and Diesel Fuel Blends on Diesel Engine Performance and Exhaust Emissions, Machacon, Matsumoto et al in JSAE Review 22 (2001), pp.349-355, Elsevier. Investigates the effects of coconut oil as diesel fuel alternative or fuel blend. Results show that neat coconut oil fuels gave lower smoke and NOx emissions.
http://www.cleers.org/articles/articlepage.php?articleid=643

Copra Oil for Power Generation and Transportation -- Project by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission to investigatethe use ofcopra oil as a fuel in power generation and for transportation in the Pacific as an alternative to diesel fuel. Countries participating in the project are: Fiji, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Samoa, American Samoa, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.
http://www.sopac.org/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=Energy+Projects+COPRA

Coconut Oil as a Biofuel in Pacific Islands -- Challenges and Opportunities, Jan Cloin, Energy Adviser, South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission: "Economically attractive niches can be found in the use of raw coconut oil in adapted engines in remote communities with an abundant supply of coconuts and milling capacity. The production of biodiesel from coconut oil in combination with other (used) vegetable oils can be set up commercially in larger communities for provision of cleaner fuels in cars and electricity generators." 11 pages, 308 kb Acrobat file
http://www.sopac.org/tiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=520

Coconut Oil Biofuel -- Clean and Competitive, Jan Cloin, Energy Adviser, South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission: Due to the increasing cost of diesel fuel, diversification to blends of coconut oil fuel is increasingly viable. Six pages, 516 kb Acrobat file
http://www.sopac.org/tiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=244

The Coconut Fireant, or A Technology Assessment using Actor-Network Theory to analyse the potential for Coconut Oil Bioenergy in the Fiji Islands, Charlie W. Blair, MSc. Study, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (University of London), Department of Environmental Science and Technology, September 2004 -- 106 pages, 2.9 Mb Acrobat file
http://www.sopac.org/tiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=148

Whatﾕs next for the tree of life? A socio-economic analysis of coconut
oil as a potential substitute for diesel in Tuvalu, William Burnyeat, MSc. Study, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (University of London), Centre for Environmental Technology, September 2004, 108 pages, 1.6 Mb Acrobat file
http://www.sopac.org/tiki/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=149


Honge Oil as diesel fuel in India
http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/discovery/honge.html

The Petroleum plant: Euphorbia tirucalli
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Euphorbia_tirucalli.html
Euphorbia lathyris
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Euphorbia_lathyris.html

The Diesel tree: "...a single tree is said to yield about 40 litres." Copaifera langsdorfii:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Copaifera_langsdorfii.html

The Petroleum nut: Pittosporum resiniferum
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Pittosporum_resiniferum.html

The Candlenut: Aleurites moluccana
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Aleurites_moluccana.html

Jojoba
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Simmondsia_chinensis.html

Ben-oil tree
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Moringa_oleifera.html

NewCrop SearchEngine at the Center for New Crops & Plant Products at Purdue University -- Search for "oil". Results: "The following pages containing 'oil' were found -- hits 1-20 of 200". Results are hyperlinked to detailed factsheets.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/SearchEngine.html

Plants For A Future -- Database Search -- See "Search by Use - Select any of the following uses. Or select none and use the plant criteria below." Select "Other Use" - oil. Results: "Other Use: Oil (460)". Results are hyperlinked to detailed factsheets.
http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/D_search.html

Diesel information

How Diesel Engines Work
http://www.howstuffworks.com/diesel.htm

Diesel Engines (Chevron)
http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuels/bulletin/diesel/L2_6_fs.htm

Diesel Fuels -- Technical Review (Chevron)
http://www.chevron.com/prodserv/fuels/bulletin/diesel/L1_toc_fs.htm

So, This is Your First Diesel
http://www.dieselpage.com/art1110fd.htm

Breaking in a Diesel Engine
http://www.thedieselstop.com/contents/getitems.php3?
Breaking%20in%20a%20Diesel%20Engine

Diesel Injection Systems
http://www.dieselpage.com/art1110ds.htm

Bosch -- Past, Present and the Future
http://www.dieselpage.com/art0898pf.htm

20 Questions with Racor
http://www.dieselpage.com/art1021ra.htm

20 Questions with Stanadyne
http://www.dieselpage.com/art0898sg.htm

Robert Bosch type VE Diesel injection pump -- how it works, illustrations
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/jag/vw/engine/fi/injpump.html

Fats and oils

The Fats and Oils: a General View, by Carl L. Alsberg and Alonzo E. Taylor, 1928, Food Research Institute, Stanford University, California
First in a series of five Fats and Oils Studies published in the 1920s by the Food Research Institute. Good overview of the subject written in layman's terms, covers nature and sources of fats and oils, properties, technology, production, international trade and more. Not very much has changed since then, it's just grown more complex. A clear and informative guide -- useful information for anyone making biodiesel or working with SVO. Full text online at the Biofuels Library.

Oils -- King's American Dispensatory, by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D., 1898 -- Informative 5,000-word article, clear explanations (excuse the whale oil!).
http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/msg13554.html

Oils and Vegetable Fats, by H.F. Macmillan, F.L.S., A.H.R.H.S. -- Old text with good illustrations and clear information on many oils of interest to biofuellers.
http://www.herbdatanz.com/oils_and_vegetable_fats.htm

Chemical Reactions of Oil, Fat and Fat Based Products -- Structure, properties and classification of lipids; Edible oils and fats sources, processing, bulk products and dispersions; Chemical, biochemical and biological deterioration. 20,000-word article, diagrams and tables. Department of Chemical Engineering, Instituto. Superior T残nico, Lisbon (Portugal), October 1997.

Food Fats and Oils (2006), Ninth Edition, Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils -- 44-page online book, 580kb Acrobat file:
http://www.iseo.org/FoodFatsOils2006.pdf

Minor Oil Crops, B.L. Axtell from research by R.M. Fairman, Intermediate Technology Development Group, Rugby, UK, FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin No. 94, Rome, 1992, ISBN 92-5-103128-2: Part I - Edible oils, Part II - Non-edible oils, Part III - Essential oils -- Full text online:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5043E/X5043E00.htm

Liberty Vegetable Oil Company lists the fatty acid composition of their oils as well as other details such as the Iodine Value, SG, Flash point etc -- Sweet Almond Oil, Pecan Oil, English Walnut Oil, Hazelnut Oil, Macadamia Nut Oil, Soybean Oil, Oleic Sunflower Oil, Canola Oil, Peanut Oil, Sunflower Oil, Corn Oil, Safflower Oil, Soybean Oil (Non-GMO), High Oleic Oils including Canola and Safflower. http://www.libertyvegetableoil.com/products.html

This on-line class on fats and fatty acids explains some of the properties of saturated and unsaturated fats and oils. StructureﾊofﾊFats, VariationsﾊinﾊFatsﾊandﾊOils, FunctionsﾊofﾊTriglycerides:
http://dl.clackamas.cc.or.us/ch106-06/fatsand.htm