Do you want to run your car on biodiesel?

These are your options regarding running your car on biodiesel:

First, know the difference between biodiesel, and SVO/WVO. Biodiesel runs on normal diesel cars (with some hoses changed at most), straight or waste oil needs a converted diesel car.

Biodiesel works in regular diesel engines. It has been processed so it ignites at the same temperature as regular diesel. It is processed from a large variety of plant or animal sources, such as animal fat, soy oil, or waste vegetable oil (wvo) from restaurants.

SVO/WVO means straight vegetable oil (as opposed to biodiesel) or waste vegetable oil. Think of it as "crude oil" or "biodiesel before processing." SVO/WVO runs only on diesel engines that have been "converted". The conversions heat the oil to the right temperature. Many conversions have a system which starts the engine on regular (or bio) diesel, then switches over to a second tank of SVO/WVO.

Here are the options for each type of fuel.

Biodiesel:
1. Get a diesel car (ebaymotors, craigslist, thesamba, etc). Older diesels are more likely to work, late models tend to have fancier systems which may get clogged by biodiesel. Many new models void their warranty if biodiesel is used.

2. Make sure the fuel lines are the right ones. Standard fuel lines will corrode from the biodiesel. Some model diesels already have the correct fuel lines, others need them replaced. Viton fuel lines are one option. Replacing the fuel lines is fairly easy job for any mechanic.

3. Buy biodiesel. You can buy biodiesel (craigslist, ebay, greasecar.com). If you are very lucky, you can actually go to a station and fill up the car (but that's rare), otherwise you find a producer or supplier from which to pick up or maybe get deliveries from.  In that case you'll need storage such as 5 gallon jugs or 55 gallon drums.

4. Or, make biodiesel yourself form SVO/WVO. You'd need to buy or find (from restaurants) vegetable oil and use a processor, which you can make or buy, to clean and chemically convert the oil into biodiesel. This is a more space and time consuming process than just buying the biodiesel, but under the right circumstances you can save a lot of money this way.

WVO/SVO
1. Get a diesel car, either one that can be converted to SVO/WVO. or one that already is.

2. If the car needs conversion, have it converted to SVO/WVO, or do it yourself.

3. Find a source of oil. You can buy bulk straight vegetable oil, or buy or get free waste vegetable oil from restaurants. Waste oil needs to be cleaned, which is not a complicated process, but it's work.

Advantages/Disadvantages to each option

Biodiesel is better for the environment than regular diesel, but not as good as WVO/SVO. The production involves methanol and lye. Its great advantage however is that existing diesel cars can use it (some with the fuel lines switched out, which is cheap). This makes it a very viable fuel for a large number of people, right now! By driving a car with biodiesel, you are modeling a cleaner way to drive that anyone can adopt without much effort.

WVO/SVO as a direct fuel requires modification of a car, and this is somewhat costly (up to $2500). But it is the more environmental option because no chemicals are involved in its production, you are recycling waste oil. Driving an WVO/SVO signifies more of a commitment on your part, but may be too much to ask of the average driver. It's inspiring, but impractical for the majority of people (unless we get large numbers of industrially produced straight oil cars, which isn't likely to happen).

Some links:
SVO vs. Biodiesel
SVO vs. Biodiesel 2
Find biodiesel in your area
biodiesel.org
Convert a diesel to a wvo car (two tank system)
Good Grease
Buy a readymade processor
Build your own processor