Excellent How-To: From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank

A couple of weeks ago I picked up From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank, by Joshua Tickell. Basically, it’s a primer on how to run a diesel-powered car on restaurant grease. The book got me investigating the world of alternative fuels, and how they might help alleviate our current pain at the pump.

One thing led to another and I took a look at an eBay Mercedes-Benz 240D,which had already been converted to run on vegetable oil, just like you buy at Costco and mix into salad dressing. Vegetable oil, which has many of the same characteristics as #2 diesel except that it doesn’t flow as well, requires a pre-heating system for use in cold climates, and the 240D was so equipped.

Further investigations led me me to more interesting discoveries. The algae that grows in the swimming pools of abandoned homes? Well, if properly infused with CO2, it can be refined into a different form of biodiesel, suitable for that 2009 BMW 335d that you might be drooling over. To catch the rest of the story, check out From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank, Part Two over on Automotive Traveler.