Green Fuels Searching For The Ideal Green Fuel For Your Vehicle

When I began my search to find a greener, more environmentally friendly fuel for my diesel vehicle, I spent a little time researching the internet. As electric, wind and solar power are mere pipe dreams for a car the size of mine, I was left with only a few sensible choices. So what fuel options are available for the green hearted?

1. LPG is an option for some, but the problem is its only suitable for petrol engines. Plus it’s a byproduct of fossil fuels, something often overlooked. more info on LPG
2. Biodiesel has received mixed press. Now I am an advocate of Biodiesel, but self manufacture is a terrifying prospect. Some of the chemicals involved can be DEADLY, plus again there are fossil fuels involved, so that became a no starter for me. more info on Biodiesel
3. Electric vehicles have certainly come more to the for in the past few years and for me (battery manufacture asside), as long as your elecricity is sourced cleanly, this has to be the ultimate Green Fuel. Infinitely more efficient than combustion engines, electric is perhaps the ideal way to go. But converting to electricity is not cheap... let's be clear, it's down right expensive. You can buy an electric car cheaper than converting an existing one. But it's still my fantasy so I'll rant about that on a dedicated page here.
4. Water – and no, I’m not kidding. Rumours still abound the internet about the engine that’s been converted to run on water. I’ll go for that option when my pet unicorn drops off a pot of gold borrowed from a passing leprechaun…
5. Vegetable oil. Obviously you've realised by now that vegetable oil was my choice of preference. It's a proven product as our European cousins have been using it for years, plus it shines above the rest in terms of environmental issues. For more details on why vegetable oil appealed to me, follow the link.

Vegetable Oil in a diesel engine?

According to modern history of the diesel engine, the creator Rudolf Diesel apparently originally created his engine to run on oil (peanut oil apparently) as it seems even back then in 1892 petrol prices were high (gasp, what a shocker). It's believed he was a visionary and even then considered how the third world could benefit producing crops for conversion to oil for vehicle use.

Theory states that even today a bulk standard diesel engine will run very happily on vegetable oil. Hence I decided to covert my Toyota Landcruiser to run on Vegetable Oil.