Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that can be used instead of diesel fuel made from petroleum. Biodioesel can be made from vegetable oils, animal fats, or greases. Most biodiesel today is made from soybean oil. About half of biodiesel producers are able to make biodiesel from used oils or fats, including recycled restaurant grease.

Biodiesel is most often blended with petroleum diesel in ratios of 2 percent (B2), 5 percent (B5), or 20 percent (B20). It can also be used as pure biodiesel (B100). Biodiesel fuels can be used in regular diesel vehicles without making any changes to the engines. It can also be stored and transported using diesel tanks and equipment.

Fueling engines with biodiesel has just started to catch on, but this isn't a new idea. Before petroleum diesel fuel became popular, Rudolf Diesel, the designer of the diesel engine, experimented with using vegetable oil (biodiesel) as fuel.

• Biodiesel could prove to be an equalizer for 3rd world economies with lots of land mass, sun, and rain yet highly dependant on imported oil. Investing in biodiesel production will give many countries the means to keep more of their money in the country by offsetting their energy costs and getting ahead with a sustainable economy.
• By utilizing fallow cropland and used cooking oil the US could displace 15% annual fossil diesel use.
• The meat industry from processing Beef, poultry and fish dispose of another 1 Billion gallons of animal fat a year. Renders pick up these wastes to process them into animal feeds, pet food, soaps, cosmetics, some biodiesel and other commodities.
• To drill for, pump, ship, refine, and ship again 1 gallon of fossil diesel or gasoline it takes an additional 1.2 gallons of fuel, just to get it to the pump. This does not also include the fuel and other resources we are using these days to maintain a military to assure this fossil fuel supply.
• To produce 1 gallon of biodiesel from most seed crops and process it on to the gas pump takes on average one third of a gallon of fuel. That is from planting the seeds to pumping the fuel into the car.
• The sun with the wondrous process of photosynthesis does most of the work. This is the process where a plant pulls carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere removes the carbon to build plant cellulose than exhales oxygen. This happens because of the sun and the plant's chlorophyll.
• For every kilogram of carbon that is released from the tailpipe of a vehicle engine running on biodiesel, 2-3 kilograms of carbon are consumed from the atmosphere by plant cellulose growth to produce that gram of biodiesel.
• Biodiesel is easier on wear and tear to an engine. It has no sulfur unlike fossil diesel. Sulfur in fossil diesel partially turns to sulfuric acid in the hot engine crankcase and causes corrosion of internal engine parts. Biodiesel is more lubricating to the engines injection pump, injectors, and valve seats. This quality creates a quieter and smoother running diesel engine with less wear and slightly more power.
• Toxic tailpipe emissions decrease from 65% to over 90% when switching from 100% fossil diesel to 100% biodiesel.
• Safety concerns are simplified with news that biodiesel is not even considered a flammable so it is safer to handle in that respect. The flash point for biodiesel is about 270-300F degrees verse 125F for fossil diesel.
• Biodiesel production on the farm will also bring about other valuable by-products like potash and other natural soil fumigants and fertilizers to rebuild our sick farmlands. In addition biodiesel production produces a crude glycerin that can be used simply as a soap product or can be further refined into a valued technical grade glycerin.
• Biodiesel has many other uses that are still being discovered like; low toxic wood floor finishes, cleaning solvents and lubricants for 2 and 4 stroke engines as well as biodegradable total loss oils for outboard motors and chain saws.