Diesel has for some time now been a highly popular alternative to straight petroleum as a method of powering cars. In a number of ways, while we have waited for the emergence of genuine renewable fuels to put into our cars, diesel has been the best compromise option, as it is considerably less of a pollutant than gasoline. Not only that, it has proven to be a great deal more economical too, meaning that drivers who change to a diesel are rewarded for their choice by saving a large amount on their fuel bills. However, it is also a fact that diesel is not itself free from polluting chemicals – and this has led to the search for a more environmentally friendly alternative that can be used in diesel vehicles.
The days of biodiesel, it seems, are finally here. The manufacturers of diesel cars have for some time been resisting the introduction of biodiesel, claiming that it was uneconomical to try and run a vehicle on it. With the continuing development of the fuel, however, it has been accepted by more than one manufacturer that the introduction of biodiesel is inevitable. The news is good for the environment, as it will allow the production of natural, renewable diesel which will burn cleaner than conventional diesel. The new fuel will work in existing diesel engines, something which makes the change less problematic for the motorist – and its renewable nature means that it will be less prone to fluctuations in the market price.
Another reason why biodiesel is seen as being so important is the presence of sulfur in a lot of the commercially available diesel on the modern-day market. Even in the lower-sulfur diesel fuels available on the market, there was a concern over the lubricating properties of the fuel. Biodiesel is likely to mean that the fuel systems of cars using it to operate suffer less system wear, and this will lead to longer lives for vehicles. The knock on effect of this is that there is an additional benefit for the environment in the shape of less unnecessary scrappage of older vehicles. More and more governments are now mandating the increased production and use of biodiesel for just these reasons.
Mindful of the need to take an exemplary lead, certain global institutions are making the switch to at least partially run their vehicles on biodiesel. British businessman Richard Branson, whose Virgin brand runs a fleet of trains in the United Kingdom, has unveiled the world’s first ever biodiesel train, a hybrid engine that is believed to cut down on direct emissions by 14%. The British Royal Family followed that lead and managed to convert the Royal Train to operate on 100% biodiesel in the autumn of 2007. That same year, Disneyland made a switch to run the theme park trains on 98% biodiesel. Although this campaign hit some glitches due to storage, the plan got back on track in 2009, and now all park trains are running on locally sourced biodiesel.
