In today's society there is a drive towards minimising fuel emissions and realising greater fuel economy. The reason behind this is that oil supplies are dwindling. Reserves of crude oil are becoming more scarce. The scarcity value of oil means that the price will tend to go up.

A new world directive is to make more sustainable fuels for use in cars. Of late biodiesel has become very much in focus. It can be made in the home in a low cost operation. In fact the technqiues and equipment needed are freely available on the internet. (the equipment isn't free).

You need a good source of not-overcooked vegetable oil. Oil from a chippy will be most likely heated to high temperatures and will contain a lot of breadown products. Using such oil will mean that your yield (end quantity) will not be good because a lot will be removed in byproducts. Restaurants tend to use lower temperatures and so this oil is more suitable so find a good source. Basically the method involves removing a lot of the acid impurities and drying the oil out to remove most of the water. What you should get is a fuel that is good enough to use in your car. Beware of fumes because methanol vapour is bad for you health - make it in a well ventilated area. And caustic soda will burn your skin so be careful of handling that too.

What's the drawback? Going down your street and stinking it out like a restaurant.

Most older cars will run very happily on biodiesel. New more modern with high pressure engines and pumps may need a mixture or an additive to get the right properties. Check on the internet for more information. VW PD engines run at quite high pressure, and can be senstive to the type of fuel you give it. So never begin by completey replacing the fuel in your car. Use say 5 or 10% mixture with real diesel and see how your car runs.

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