What Vegetable Oils Can Be Made Into Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a fuel comparable to petroleum based diesel fuel, but is made from vegetable oil. A wide variety of vegetables can produce the quality of vegetable oil that the Biodiesel conversion process needs. This wide variety of fuel sources gives hope that Biodiesel can be helpful as an alternative-fuel, not just in the more developed wester countries, but the underdeveloped countries as well.

A partial list of the kinds of vegetable oils that can be used in Biodiesel manufacturing:

• Peanut Oil
• Cottonseed Oil
• Rapeseed Oil
• Soybean Oil
• Mustard Oil
• Sunflower Oil
• False Flax Oil
• Rice Bran Oil
• Radish Oil
• Safflower Oil
• Palm Oil
• Corn Oil
• Coconut Oil
• Tung Oil
• Hemp Oil
• Jatropha
• Radish Oil
• Algae
• Castor Oil

Biodiesel can also be made from WVO (waste vegetable oil), which is previously used vegetable oil, like that which would be discarded from restaurants and delis. When using WVO to make Biodiesel there is an additional process that has to be undertaken to remove all the impurities, while this process would add to the overall cost of the fuel, it would not be prohibitive. It can be financially profitable to use WVO as a source for Biodiesel, but there are already other established industries using WVO in their manufacturing process, namely soap products.

Animal fat can also be used to produce Biodiesel in a very similar process to that of vegetable oil conversion. Because of the limited supply of animal fat this is rarely undertaken.

The combination of waste vegetable oil, vegetable oil, and animal fat is not even close to sufficient enough to replace liquid fossil fuel as the main form of fuel used in transportation. Some environmentalists, although supporting of the use of Biodiesel as a viable fuel option, are not in favor of raising production of the vegetation needed to manufacture more Biodiesel. The argument being that if natural vegetative growth is removed to make room for the growing and harvesting of plants intended to be used in the manufacturing of Biodiesel, then in the end the Earth would suffer in spite of it’s well intentioned efforts.

Biodiesel, as a fuel, has many sources or raw materials but none so plentiful that it could challenge the current standardized petroleum based oil industry.

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Mark Allen is an avid supporter of the continuing search for a viable alternative-fuel. More info at: BiodieselPlans.info