Biodiesel Cost

Although it has become more popular over the last few decades, with society becoming more aware of green issues, biodiesel is as old as the diesel engine itself. Rudolph Diesel, the inventor, designed his machine based on experiments with a range of fuels, including powdered coal and peanut oil. Back in the 1920s, diesel engines were adapted to burn oil, which then was cheap and abundant, and people were not aware of how toxic it was. During the 1970s petrol crisis, biodiesel entered fuel conversations again and commercial production began in earnest in the 1990s.

Biodiesel can cost a little more than pure petroleum diesel, but if we factor in the environmental benefits and the impact that cleaner fuel can have on human and non-human life, then the picture changes in its favor. In the United States, the most common sources for biodiesel production are soybean oil and yellow grease (recycled cooking oil, often collected from restaurants). Blends of biodiesel and petroleum are labelled with the letter B, followed by the percentage of biodiesel in the mix (for example, B20). B100 refers to pure biodiesel.

According to Biodiesel.org, biodiesel cost depends on the market price for vegetable oil. On average, B20 costs 20 cents per gallon more than pure diesel. The organization points that out that while the cost of biodiesel may seem higher, an emission management system with biodiesel is the cheapest alternative if we consider its other advantages. It cites a study by Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc., which found that fleets using B20 would experience lower total annual costs than other alternative fuels. Elsewhere, a report by the University of Georgia showed that biodiesel-powered buses are competitive with other alternatively fueled buses with biodiesel prices as high as $3 per gallon.

The press is always reporting on individual cases where car owners adapt their cars to run on biodiesel made of waste vegetable oil and making huge savings in the process. One restaurant owner called Erik Kafrissen, who also stars in the "Heeb 'n Rob Show" on the Wild TV hunting and fishing network, spent $3,200 on a conversion kit, duty expenses and a home filter system. Biodiesel cost to run the car is $8.50 per 100km for the fuel. He reckons the vegetable oil system will pay for itself at 37,000 kilometers covered.