Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is biodiesel?

A. Biodiesel is a biodegradable, combustible liquid fuel derived from vegetable oils or animal fats that meets American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specifications D6751 and is suitable for blending with diesel fuel oil for use in internal combustion diesel engines.

Biodiesel can be produced from both new and used vegetable oil and animal oil. This means that used cooking grease from restaurants and factories, oils from animal fats, and virgin vegetable oil can all be used to produce biodiesel through a relatively simple process.

Q. How is biodiesel used?

A. Biodiesel can be used in any internal combustion diesel engine. Biodiesel can either be used in its pure form known as B100, or it can be mixed at any level with regular petroleum diesel. Some common mixtures are 20% biodiesel with 80% petro-diesel (B20) and 5% biodiesel with 95% petro-diesel (B5).

Q. Are there any special engine modifications that are needed to use biodiesel?

A. Biodiesel blends can be used in any internal combustion diesel engine with no special modifications or extra machinery. There is one minor issue when using B100. Since B100 can degrade certain kinds of elastomers in some engines, the rubber fuel hoses and fuel pump seals need to be replaced with compatible elastomers.

Q. Will the use of biodiesel affect the engine warranty?

A. Many major engine manufacturers have made formal statements that the use of biodiesel blends under 20 percent will not void their warranty. For biodiesel blends over 20 percent, it is necessary to check with the manufacturer to see if there are any issues regarding their warranty.

Q. What is the advantage of using a low-blend biodiesel fuel?

A. Our nation’s use of petroleum oil is the cause for many of our most urgent economic, security, and environmental problems. The only real, long-term solution for this issue is to reduce our use and, hence, our dependency on petroleum oil. Biodiesel is unique in that it is a relatively clean-burning, renewable fuel that fits nicely into our current energy portfolio with little restructuring. Using a low-blend biodiesel fuel will reduce a percentage of our total oil consumption, provide economic benefits (because it is produced domestically), and provide environmental benefits since it is cleaner than diesel. And, best of all, since biodiesel can use existing machinery and infrastructure and is readily available, statewide use of a low-blend biodiesel fuel can be readily implemented to provide immediate results.

Q. Will a low-blend biodiesel fuel increase the cost of diesel?

A. The current price of pure biodiesel is around $1.85 a gallon. This price does fluctuate depending on the source of the biodiesel and the quantity purchased. The price of biodiesel has come down significantly in recent years, and is anticipated to come down further as biodiesel use increases and the infrastructure grows. Even with the current price of biodiesel, a low-blend biodiesel such as B5 does not contain enough biodiesel to make a significant difference in the price from regular diesel.

Q. I want to run my diesel car or truck on biodiesel. Can I do that?

A. Yes. Any car or truck that runs on regular petroleum diesel can also run on either 100% biodiesel or any blend of biodiesel with petroleum diesel. When using a blend that contains more than 20% biodiesel, a few minor modifications may be necessary, such as replacing the rubber fuel hoses and fuel pump seals with a compatible elastomer.