Biodiesel is a clean-burning, renewable fuel made from animal or vegetable fats, greases, and oils. Biodiesel can be used in most conventional diesel engines with NO modification.

Since biodiesel is produced from oil and grease feedstocks, it can be produced on a long-term, renewable basis.

The original diesel engine designed by Rudolph Diesel in the 1890's used peanut oil.  Because it was viewed as a waste of food, and because, at the time, petroleum products were less expensive, diesel engines were converted to run on petrodiesel by 1900.  However, Diesel had the foresight to state "the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal-tar products of the present time."

Biodiesel has greater lubricity than petroleum diesel, which reduces engine wear.

Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel requires an additive to improve its lubricity. Unlike the synthetic lubricity additives currently used, biodiesel is an organic, combustible fuel.   With even 2% biodiesel added, fuel burns more efficiently and even improves the efficiency of retrofit technologies like diesel oxidation catalysts and particulate filters by inhibiting the accumulation of ash.

Biodiesel is significantly less toxic than petroleum diesel, and is more biodegradable than petrodiesel, reducing the negative impacts of spills.

Biodiesel is four times as efficient as diesel fuel in utilizing fossil energy.  Biodiesel yields around 3.2 units of fuel for every unit of fossil energy consumed in the lifecycle.  By contrast, petroleum diesels life cycle yields on only 0.83 units of fuel product per unit of fossil energy consumed –Biodiesel Lifecycle Inventory Study, DOE & USDA, 1998

Biodiesel is the least-cost alternative to meet requirements of The Energy Policy Act of 1992.  Under the Biodiesel Fuel Use Credits provisions, fleets may choose to operate existing diesel vehicles that weigh more than 8500 lbs on blends of biodiesel in lieu of purchasing a new alternative fuel vehicle. The biodiesel component of the fuel blend must constitute at least 20% of the volume of the fuel (B20). The fleet may count the biodiesel portion of that blend towards their annual AFV requirement. For each 450 gallons of biodiesel purchased and consumed, a full vehicle credit is awarded. –National Biodiesel Board