omega0684
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 10:31 AM |
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diesel or bio diesel
whats the difference between the two? is it a case of biodiesel is just greener than regular diesel? is it better for the car etc? do you get more
ecomony from it?
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blakep82
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 10:40 AM |
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bio is made of plants or something (rape seed oil?) so is not using oil out the ground to make it i think
________________________
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don't write OT on a new thread title, you're creating the topic, everything you write is very much ON topic!
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edspurrier
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 10:51 AM |
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Biodiesel tends to be a mix of ordinary diesel and plant-based fuel. At the moment it's an environmental evil on a grand scale as it needs hige
amounts of food growing land to produce, and it is largely made using plants from bits of the world that could do with some extra food.
There are some based on algae in the pipeline which have great potential
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BenB
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 10:52 AM |
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Yup. As said, the thirst for biodiesel is really quite a bad thing. Huge amounts of the rainforest are being deforested for biodiesel production!!!
That and cheap steak....
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cd.thomson
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 11:02 AM |
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Guys, you have to remember that Alex is probably now a BP representative.
Therefore critisising biodiesel is likely to get you "taken out"  
Its not green in the slightest but it is cheap if you can find somewhere who stocks it.
Craig
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Rosco
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 11:11 AM |
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It's more about politics than being green. The advocates claim that the CO2 generated from buring biofuel is offset by the CO2 consumed by the
growing plant. The sceptics claim that although this is partially true the additional energy consumed farming, processing, transporting it cancel any
benefit. Personally I'm sceptical about the science - there will allways be something growing on the land used for biofuel grops and
consuming CO2 unless you concrete over it - even if it's just grass, however, we'll get more efficient at producing it over time and
anything that reduces consumption of oil and delays the eventual demise of hydrocarbon-based fuel for cars has to be good.
In terms of the blend, I think bio-diesel is only something like 10%-20% biofuel, the rest being normal diesel.
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Rosco
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 11:14 AM |
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Oh, forget to mention - I have no idea what it does for your engine, but didn't top gear have problems with fuel pump seals when they did that
24hr race in a bio-fueled BMW 3 series.
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MikeR
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 11:38 AM |
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ok, i've read up on this a bit.....
bio-diesel or chip shop oil is 'cleaner' in the car. If you run diesel for a number of miles you get lots of crud in your tank. If you
then switch to bio / chip shop you have to change you filter after 30 / 40 miles and then again after a few 100. the bio / chip shop cleans the crap
out of the tank / fuel lines .... except the crap will block up the injector / get caught by the fuel filter hence the need to change.
Is it 'greener'. Well if you're using waste oil - yes. The oil is just going to be destroyed so seeing as its already been grown,
refined, transported etc there is only a small additional impact to filtering / re-refining it for bio-diesel. (this is assuming you would have bought
normal diesel anyway so you're actual emissions are irrelevent). Its also about as 'powerful' as normal diesel so your mpg
shouldn't change.
The issue is no one will rate a modern TDCI engine for bio fuel. The best you'll get is rated to a mix - usually 10% max as this is what
they're already doing in a number of european country fuel stations anyway. The reason they won't rate is officially due to the potential
for substandard fuel and the tollerances being so fine on modern injector pumps. Historically old TDI engines run fine on the stuff as long as it
hasn't got a lucas injector pump (bosch being the other major manufacture).
So .... onto the question is crop grown bio better or not. There is no question that the land being cultivated that was once forest is not good. But
i'd question the issues over the growing, refining, transporting of grain to make diesel. I have a HUGE issue that you never ever seem to get
total cost. So yes, the cost of manufacture is high - but what is hte cost of manufacture for oil? Exporation, drilling, platforms at sea needing
supplies, pipelines, refining etc?
So ..... what sort of answer where you looking for? The basic summary is they're both evil due to the fact they use the earths resources 
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omega0684
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 11:56 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by cd.thomson
Guys, you have to remember that Alex is probably now a BP representative.
Therefore critisising biodiesel is likely to get you "taken out"
easy tiger, i still have my fingers crossed
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MikeR
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 12:04 PM |
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well when you stop having your fingers cross could you hire me as your environmental consultant. I have no qualifications in the subject area but
i'm sure that won't be an issue
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big-vee-twin
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| posted on 27/8/09 at 12:15 PM |
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BIODEISEL
Largest Biodeisel plant in Euorpe is in East Yorkshire using local crops!!
Poor spelling however.
I ran my E class merc on this for over two years never had a problem or noticed any difference
[Edited on 27/8/09 by big-vee-twin]
Duratec Engine is fitted, MS2 Extra V3 is assembled and tested, engine running, car now built. IVA passed 26/02/2016
http://www.triangleltd.com
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 28/8/09 at 02:12 AM |
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I ran a 98 Astra, a 96 306 and a 99 mondeo on biodiesel. After 3 or 4 fill ups they'd smoke a bit more and judder when you've got your
foot to the floor but a couple of top ups with normal stuff cured it.
I used it in my 05 mondeo too and after a week I couldn't go up slight inclines, carry 4 passengers or go faster than snail's pace cos it
kept cutting out. Cue 4 weeks praying it's the biodiesel causing it and not the fuel pump that's screwed.
Excercise caution...
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MikeR
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| posted on 28/8/09 at 07:56 AM |
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Which of those engines where common rail and which where normal diesel?
Did you replace the filters after starting to use bio and then after a few hundred miles?
Where did you get your bio from?
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 28/8/09 at 06:29 PM |
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The bio came from either a place in Warrington near the town hall, or one in Liverpool on edge lane (straight in from the m62)
Never did any replacements to either, however after a few weeks on normal diesel (and fuel cleaner) they all worked fine.
I keep being told it's about the fuel pump, something to do with the diesel lubricating the pump mechanism and bio diesel is too thin for it
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