Your Comments

I would certainly use Biodiesel if my vehicle could be adapted at reasonable cost, it was available locally and the government was'nt going to cash in on it immediately!

I would certainly use biodiesel as long as I was sure they were not using palm oil. I do not want to see any more tropical rain forest destroyed for this purpose.

I know a number of people who add vegetable oil to their fuel tanks, particularly L/R's 300tdi engines. They insist that it actually makes the engine smoother and quiter. The amounts they add vary from 5% to 30%. I am led to believe it does not affect performance or improve the MPG and the greater amount of oil added can cause problems, if the fuel is not preheated, during winter as it thickens in the cold.
To reflect your warning be careful as all fuel delivery systems are different and not all will tolerate the veg oil.
An example of this is my local garage had a BMW 3.0d in for repair as the user put neat Veg oil in the tank and the common rail delivery system threw its dummy out which cost------£6,000! to repair.

Most manufacturers will confirm if your engine can tolerate Biodiesel and articles in the press suggest that diesel engines will tolerate a 5%, veg oil, mix.

Please be advised if you add any type of natural plant oil to your tank you must pay duty on it.

Russell

I would like to believe there is a future for biodiesel but I cannot get past the thought that the government would hike the price so they would not lose any revenue.

Anything that reduces our reliance on oil from the middle east should be a no brainer.

If its cheaper to produce and is kind to the environment, mabye we should start to lobby the goverment into producing some sort of grant scheme towards any conversion costs.
With the way the middle east is heading it wont be long before there's no oil for anyone.
That said, im off to morrisons to but a gallon of there finest sunflower oil for my diesel.....supermarket brand of course, its cheaper..!

Further research in this area has to be pushed for. I would seriously consider bio diesel if it was a viable alternative. Benefits to the driver are bound to be for a limited time though - until the government devizes a way of taxing veg oil/bio diesel consumption! Drivers who pay to convert their vehicles to allow for bio diesel could very well end up in the same position as LPG vehicle drivers - after paying a hefty price to convert the car, the government only caps the price (or tax!) of the fuel for a few years.

If this were to have a positive impact on the farming industry in this country first and foremost then I would be all for Bio Diesel. Sadly though I believe that any loss of revenue the Government sustains by the introduction of one product, then it simply gets added somewhere else.....

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Bio Fuel has got to better for Envoirment, but do the Big Oil companies want us to use it ?, what will happen to their Profits ?, I thing they will do all they can to prevent it from happening.

As sure as night follows day, our tax grabbing Govt. would slap a hefty tax on Biodiesel---in the same manner that they increased the duty on LPG after persuading thousands to convert to it! But a worthwhile investment in the production of biodiesel would help to make us less reliant on oil supplies from certain unreliable countries !!!

Yes I would use it but the problem is that areas of forrest are being destroyed in some countries to grow this new cash crop. Environmentally friendly ? Not convinced

To echo some previous posts, the cheapest way to make BioDiesel is from Palm oil. The Pacific Rim countries where these tree grow well are currently suffering deforestation to increase land for Palms to supply the demand from Europe (where some countries have a requirement for diesel to be 5% Bio).

It has been estimated that to grow enough rape seed to provide oil for all the diesel cars on the road would take more land than the UK covers. So we'd still be importing fuel, just from different countries.

There also seems to be some confusion between BioDiesel(TM) which is a mixture of processed vegetable oil and mineral diesel, can be bought from the pump and meets diesel fuel regulations, straight vegetable oil which you buy at your local supermarket, and waste vegetable oil which you get from chip shops or wherever and process to remove all contaminants before using it as fuel.

BioDiesel can be used in any modern (post 1990) diesel engine without damage although winter starting may be more difficult. Both of the other options require fuel system modifications in most vehicles.

It's not the panacaea it's made out to be by some factions.

Yes there is a plant in Motherwell that turns almost everything into biodiesel. Dead animals, dirty chipshop oil, cereals & etc, you name it, it can be rendered into biodiesel. And yes there is a mill on Tees-side which starts with rape seed and produces biodiesel.

But, BP (might be Innovene now) Grangemouth buys 100% of the product from the Motherwell plant and blends it with mineral oil to produce a version of "biodiesel".

Also, for pure veg based biodiesel, the ratio of the diesel burnt in harvesting and transporting the crop to the amount of fuel derived from that crop means that
a.) It is only viable whilst there is little or no duty on biodiesel and huge amounts on mineral diesel, and
b.) Rather than being cleaner than mineral diesel, in truth it may be dirtier and possibly by a large margin.
c.) It would be best for the enviroment to use recycled cooking oil for road fuel rather than virgin veg derived oil - thus obtaining a double hit from the single source.

The real question should be to research whether the CO & CO2 produced in harvesting, transporting and from burning the fuel produced is 100% consumed by the photosynthesis process of the growing Rape plants - ie. is the net process carbon neutral?

Brillient, it's about time we had some one on our side to spread the word (the soaked motorist) and the comment's so far proove it. It was promoted some time ago that to run on diesel would be a cheaper alternative to petrol. Some promise, as the cost's are now even, though modern enginering has come on in leaps & bound's. I am sure we are not getting the mpg from any fuel and firmly believe the manufactures could and have the technology to increase mpg by 30%. So what a boon if the biodiesel were to be approved for use, cheap to buy & cheaper to run. That is if the the oil companies relent, but I fear hell will freeze over first.

Yes I would use Bio-diesel if I was widely avail in this Country. Even more so If we do not have to rely on other countries for the raw materials, because you can bet your left arm on it, as soon as it becomes popular, the producers and the goverment will find ways and excuses to wack the price up.

it isn't very environmentally friendly to transport it all round the world, so it would need to be produced locally. I'm not sure Britain would look that great covered in one crop, just to support all our cars. And the cynical have pointed out that tax is high, and the government would recoup the loss from normal diesel on biodiesel - and so they should, if we still want to have hospitals, schools and road building. So you should only be using biodiesel because it is cleaner, and sustainable, and hopefully less likely to start another war.

But for those of you using veg oil, and especially if you run a business - bear in mind that veg oil used as car fuel requires the same amount of duty, so you owe the gov't 47p a litre - and they are wising up to this.

In the past I ran a Peugeot 309 GLD for 5 years, total miles 220k on rapeseed oil from tesco/asda and currently run a Golf TDi present mileage75k. Eco Diesel is available locally at 10p a litre cheaper than diesel and works well in my partners Skoda Tdi pd. Has any one any experience of using rapeseed oil in the new generation VW/audi/seat/skoda pd engines?
The pub bore will tell you that this will ruin your engine but my 309 engine was still going strong when the bodywork finally failed the MOT and running on half price fuel I reckon I saved a bomb.
Living in a large city the sweet sickly doughnut stall smell is often found in traffic jams so I know I am not on my own

I work in the car leasing industry and have researched the use of bio diesel. Most major car manfacturers will not honor the vehicle warranty if more than 5% bio mix is used. 5% satisfies EN590 same as 100% mineral fuels. Bio fuels be it bio diesel or bio ethnol (petrol alternative) do not produce any less tailpipe polutants. The only benefits to be gained are in the growing plants taking back carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but the manufacturing and distribution process can produce more than the plants take back. The only real way to reduce greenhouse gases from cars is to use smaller/more efficient engines or hybrids until hydrogen power comes onstream.

yes we would use if available and a lot cheaper in price

i use pure veg oil in my '97 td peugeot 306. it no longer smokes on starting up, starts first time every time and is only costing me 70p /litre.
it is produced by a local business (in Newcastle upon Tyne) who are VAT registered and are paying the duty on the fuel to the local tax office.
i did not make any mods to my car
it's great cos it's carbon neutral- what ever went into the plant whilst it's growing is all that comes out of your exhaust- it says 0.001% on the emissions note on my MOT
only one problem now- he's so popular he cant meet the demand so occasionally have to fill up with diesel! he makes it from used veggie oil from fish shops so we need to eat more to keep up the supply!!
if anybody knows where you can get it in the north east please post it there. thanks

The overall effect of biodiesel use & production will be negative. Forest will go to grow the oil plants, GM plants will be developed to increase yield, food production will suffer to supply oil to richer nations and it may extend the life of the real problem, the incredibly inefficient IC engine. I am currently in the USA where they drive around 10-20 mph below the UK in mostly petrol vehicles with 2-3 times the engine capacity and 1/2 the efficiency why? because they don't give a damn and can so far afford it. Ford are producing for Europe very efficient fast and reliable diesl powered cars BUT none around in the USA. All day long I can here the awful sound of torque converted V8 SUV's accelerating from the lights etc. Anything we do in the UK is negated by their waste. A recent forecast here said that crude oil could rise to $100/barrel, currently about $71 which could bankrupt some major airlines and create chaos. we need nuclear power and electric vehicles. Scientists will probably crack the Nuclear Fusion process and away we go....the only way is to mimic the SUN!..........mike

Gordon Brown has said that he fully supports Biodiesel and will only make it slightly more expensive than normal diesel even though it is cheap to make.
He believes that nothing is for nothing unless you are a Government Minister.

In some countries in Europe they use Bio-Derv and it does not effect my Motorhome engine if we had it in Britain I would use it all the time. But because the goverment can not put so much tax on it they do not want us using it.

Bio diesel is carbon neutral and contains less harmful emmissions than fossil fuels, so therefore in theory more environmentally friendly, but as pointed out already, if planting of crops to produce biodiesel is not carefully managed, the destruction of habitats could be disasterous. We need a genuinely sustainable alternative, and a car company with the vision and balls to promote it.

For the lady who wrote comment 4: You are absolutely right NO PALM OIL DIESEL as they destroy tropical rainforest in order to grow that sh*t.

I would DEFINITELY use Bio-fuel especially biodiesel. I think we would give our farmers an opportunity to become competi-tive and who knows it could address the European Farmer's Subsidary issue?

We are about the only country in Europe that doesn't blend 'Forecourt Diesel' with 5% of Biodiesel. Do you really think UK engines are different then the ones found in cars being driven in e.g. France?

Anyway the thing is so big that all production of rapeseed oil in the UK for the next year has already been bought. Even BP buys mussive amount of it to descretely incorporate it in their mineral diesel BUT they then give it a funky name and add another profit margin.

I tried to get my hands on used frying oil from the local chippy, the geezer asked me to pay for since he receives 100 of these requests.

When compared to mineral diesel, Bio-diesel is THE answer; almost Carbon Neutral, better for you engine, Smells nicer (matter of opinion), makes people smile, doesn't destroy buildings or walls, same performance, no CO or NOx,...

The only problem is cost of manufacture and the fact that the government would be forced by EU to allow tax reduction for 'green fuels'

So when you vote next time, think twice before you vote the usual color

We have found that supermarket fuel does not give the same mileage per gallon

I would happily use Bio Diesel in an engine designed to use it - providing it was sensibly priced; ie 30p/litre at the pump. I am not prepared to pay to have an engine converted in order to use it.
Don't forget, once it gains popularity, that awfully nice Mr Brown or indeed his successor, will steadily increase the taxation level to such an extent that we won't actually be any better off. As has been mentioned elsewhere, DERV used to be 20p a gallon (yes, remember those things?) cheaper than petrol. As it gained popularity in the private car sector, the price steadily rose to the point that it was - and still is - dearer than petrol. The reason for this is pure greed as diesel requires less refining than petrol.

I have invested in Biofuels (BFC) a start-up company which has just come on-line producing biodiesel in the NE - we could all do the same and then buy it as well.

Yes the government will tax it - they need the money to run the country regardless of who they are or even what they may spend it on or what colour party they are, or that they care where the money comes from, so we have to be realistic, but at least we would stop killing the earth.

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I've been to a couple of industry conferences where this topic has come up. Bio diesel (and petrol) is cheaper to produce and can potentially produce higher octane, more refined fuel which not only gives more performance but also improved consumption.

More importantly there is a sustainable source of raw material here in the UK. Apparently we grow enough wheat to solve our fuel needs NOW!!

It just needs more motorists to spread the word, be positive and push for tax incentive to use bio derived fuels.

Anything that is going to be of benefit to the environment and to my pocket, as long as the government doesn't take 75% tax, I am well up for.

To develop this form of fuel makes so much sense to me,lets take the power away from the oil industry.We must make certain large conclomerates don't take this potential new market over otherwise we are back to square one.
How about developing this industry in areas that currently are so poor - if we can get the water supply right ie converting sea water into usable water - we have an industry for Africa etc.How about getting rid of the wheat mountains and change to this type of growth.
Do it now befor its to late for our planet! Weve had our time on earth lets make life easier for the future generations yet to be born.Let's THINK for a change.

i live in west sussex and buy biofuel at £0.88 pence ltr. i drive a 2800 tdi delica grey import which is very thirsty. it runs fine ,its had no modification and can switch back to derv when away from this area. i think the fuel is made from used cooking oil.

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i have got vw passat 1.9 tdi (51 reg)
can i use bio diesel in my car?
is it safe for the engine?

My company aleady uses a type of Bio Diesel. It is a fact that the farming community throughout the UK has the capacity to produce all the diesel fuel we need without jeopodising current crop production.
Why don't the government just get on with it?