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Do any of us use biofuels regularly or used it atleast once?

If used, did one notice a difference in fuel efficiency, performance, smell of exhaust etc?

I used bio diesel a few times ( 5-6 times, may be) in varying quantities but always with at least half a tank of diesel. I did not notice any difference in performance or fuel efficiency.

I shall, very soon, put my Indica on full biodiesel diet for atleast one two tanks full.

Related Thread : Biofuels Explained & Explored

hi,
an interesting topic, but my first question would be what kind of bio-fuel? jathropa based? and where did you buy it in Hyderabad?
afaik, shouldn't the quantity of the bio-fuel be not more than 10%?, more than that would have long term affects i believe.

This is interesting. Is biofuel available at Hyd pumps? What is the price? What does it look like? Is yours a stock car or have there been some modifications to adapt itself to bio diesel?

One exclusive biofuel pump is Apex Biofuels near Hayath Nagar. It is on left side of the road while coming from Hayath Nagar to Vanasthalipuram, just after a BP Fuel Station. They dispense both Petrol and Diesel.

My car is a stock Indica V2 DLE, 2002.

I have not observed the colour as I had gone to the pump during late evenings, and any way the nozzle was inserted into the opening.

The 'petroleum' smell is absent. It smells vaguely like the oils we use in our households. Actually, I was talking to the staff at the pump trying to get information about the company that makes these fuels so I didnt concentrate much on the 'looks' of the biodiesel.

The sales people there say it is B100.
Here is the website of the company. I have just come across it. Did not go through it yet.
http://apexgroup9.com/bioFuels.html

Biodiesel rate is about Rs.2/- less per litre than the regular diesel.

Some other bio-diesel makers whose links are given here -

Nandan Biomatrix

:: NANDAN BIOMATRIX LIMITED::

Southern Online Bio Technologies

::- Welcome to Southern Online Bio Technologies Ltd. -::

I remember SOL has tied up with APSRTC to run a few buses on Biodiesel.

Smell of exhaust will be different from regular diesel (slightly pungent), FE won't improve, mostly will come down by 10 - 15 %, performance will come down.

BEWARE! The fuel system needs to be tweaked for Biodiesel use, specially the fuel lines, strainers etc. Biodiesel is harmful on rubber and polymer parts. The cranking time will also go up.

Spike

[quote=SPIKE ARRESTOR;2351970 BEWARE! The fuel system needs to be tweaked for Biodiesel use, specially the fuel lines, strainers etc. Biodiesel is harmful on rubber and polymer parts. The cranking time will also go up.Spike[/quote]

I read somewhere that the rubber parts in fuel lines/injection pump etc are biodiesel compatible post 2000.

very interesting thread. I was not even aware that it is available. I guess it is going to be relatively safer for older diesels like Indica, than the newer CRDI ones that are more complex, and might get spoit easily.

Anyway, is it available anywhere in Bangalore? Me has an Indica Turbo, and would not mind trying it out.

i think, it must be B10, meaning a 10% mix. be careful for a mix for than that percentage. and afaik in India only the honda engines have be configured for the fuelmix, and that too a max being of 10%.

should try out this fuel soon, maybe in a generator first. Rs 2/- per litre is a good saving, esp in non automobile applications such as industrial generators where diesel consumption is a lot.

So, this biofuel, aka biodiesel I assume can only be used on diesel engines? No petrol engines? or can it?

If yes, I would want to try this out on a motorcycle first than experimenting on a car.

I suspected that, though not 10%, it is a mixture of regular and biodiesel. But how can they sell at lesser price?

That is what I have in mind. For diesel gensets, agricultural pumpsets, even tractors, trucks....

I do know for fact that many trucks, except may be large fleets, use a combination of kerosene and diesel. Some use only kerosene with one litre of engine oil in a tank full. It makes a lot of sense economically, with the premature fuel injection pump and engine wear-out.

They even have a name for it - "TURBO".

Well. If I remember right Honda used to advertise as e10 compatible. E for ethanol at 10%. It was not B10. Isn't it?

This is news!

I frankly did not know biofuels were available for private use. The only time I have seen a vehicle on biofuel was some company buses (Philips I guess) in Pune.

Wonder why this has not been popularized/propagated.

If I have my facts correct, the exhaust on burning biofuel is much much cleaner than conventional petrol/diesel, right?

I'm just curious, did you consult TASS before using biofuel? Asking from the perspective of how the engine responds to it, pros, cons etc.

APSRTC in association with SOL (biodiesel maker) runs/had run some buses on biodiesel. No news on what were the findings.

One of the reasons could be the capacity constraints, investment needed and the lack of interest among the private individuals for setting up a dispensing station.

Exhaust sure smells different. Could be cleaner.

No, I did not consult a TASS. I am very sure they would have answered in a non-committal way at the best. As a matter of fact, I did not set my foot in a TASS after my free services are completed.

Petrol is mixed with ethanol. That is at the OMCs. I am not sure about it at the biofuel station. Shall inquire.

The government had mandated a 5% ethanol blend in 2007 and we did used that biofuel in our cars without being aware of it. And now, the Govt. has plans of mandating a 20% ethanol blend in petrol and a 20% jatropha diesel blend by 2012 (though it seems doubtful especially with ethanol as a the govt. buying price of sugar molasses is pretty low and the Alcohol manufacturers tend to out buy it).