Petroleum vs. Diesel vs. Biodiesel, The Cold Hard Facts

audi r8 diesel 01 Petroleum vs. Diesel vs. Biodiesel, The Cold Hard Facts

Are people really making engines run on french fry grease? Apparently they are. You may also know by now that Mr. Rudolf Diesel premiered the engine at the 1900 World’s Fair to run on peanut oil. So, this is nothing new.

But I still don’t get it. I have no idea what the difference is between biodiesel and a grease car, other than the fact that one is a chemical mixture of organic materials and the other is straight veggie oil. But isn’t it all the same? No. Lets break it down before Josh Tickell (Mr. BioDiesel) joins me for an extended chat on The Real G Room 101. Here’s what I know so far (the rest will get cleared up when we speak)…

Petroleum: 87/89/91 grade fuel. Good old Gasoline.

The Wiki sez:


The key is combustion engine. Did you know they came up with the engine to solve the problem of the streets smelling like horse droppings! So, now the air doesn’t smell much but we have unbreatheable conditions in major metropolitan centers around the world. All to avoid the smell of dung. We’re funny, human beings. Always creating bigger breakdowns in an attempt to solve the ones we have. Will we ever learn?

Diesel: Father was Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel. The other fuel at the pump.

The Wiki sez:

“Diesel or diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum) that is used as fuel in a diesel engine. The term typically refers to fuel that has been processed from petroleum.”

A cleaner burning fuel that most people associate with the trucking/shipping industry. You still see a black cloud coming out of the pipes of these engines, but it’s allegedly a cleaner burn. Really?

Biodiesel: Diesel not derived from petroleum is being developed and adopted from vegetable oils. There are gas stations in Germany that are all biodiesel. It is generally cheaper than normal fuel and gives you an even cleaner emission than the petroleum based fuels.

I’ve heard you can convert hybrids to biodiesel. More details on that and much more when I get in touch with the guy here in Venice. So, tune in and check it out as we all get the skinny on this alternative to oil. If you have any questions for him, email me.

Click here to read up on Josh Tickell.

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