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This vegetable-oil based fuel is more biodegradable than sugar and less toxic than table salt. In this essential book, author Greg Pahl explores biodiesel's exciting potential as a fuel for vehicles, home heating and more. It includes resources for buying or making your own biodiesel.

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Using vegetable oils as a fuel for home heating and transportation is a hundred years old. Rudolf Diesel's original engine was operated on plant oils because of the lack of fossil fuels. Later, plant and animal oils were converted into a petrodiesel-compatible fuel known as biodiesel; a clean, low-carbon fuel.

In the early 1980s, home brewers discovered they could transform waste restaurant fryer oils into crude biodiesel and use it in automobiles at 100% concentrations at one quarter the cost of petrodiesel. Yet automotive and engine manufacturers insist that late-model vehicles may be damaged when run on high concentrations of biodiesel and may not honor engine warranties where biodiesel fuel has been used.

This 556-page book aims to separate fact from fiction on the economic production of quality biodiesel. It includes a list of suppliers, descriptions of detailed processes, a guide to numerous reference materials, and lists the equipment required to produce biodiesel that meets North American standards.

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This 596-page book is packed with firsthand experiences, practical designs and data, plus great stories. It also provides the nitty-gritty details needed to fuel a revolution of small businesses prepared to engage in eco-friendly auto fuel production.

Today, more than ever before, our society is seeking ways to live more conscientiously. To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, MOTHER EARTH NEWS is recommending books to its readers. For more than 30 years, MOTHER EARTH NEWS has been North America’s “Original Guide to Living Wisely,” creating books and magazines for people with a passion for self-reliance and a desire to live in harmony with nature.

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The benefits of straight vegetable oil (SVO) as an alternate fuel for diesel engines are many. SVO is cheap, carbon-neutral, uses a waste product, and does not depend upon centralized corporate infrastructure.

SVO is the only book available that explains exactly what you need to convert a diesel vehicle and how to do it properly. It provides readers the knowledge to sort through the different supply companies and online plans to find the best equipment and plans for their needs. While technical in nature, this fully illustrated book is very accessible. Each method is introduced and described in great detail. Illustrated, 226 pages.