The use of biodiesel lowers greenhouse gas emissions much more effectively than ethanol, gasoline, and regular diesel fuel. This will also help change your energy use to more reusable sources. While this is still a relatively unknown type of fuel, the research that is going in to this area is greatly increasing.
One reason that biodiesel is a very appealing area of development is the availability of recycled waste oil. Biodiesel can be created with leftover oil from restaurants, animal fat or liposuction fat that would normally be thrown out. Although some people convert their cars to run on straight vegetable oil so they do not have to convert oil into fuel, either solution is still a positive step for reducing emissions.
Some people are very skeptical of the biodiesel conversion trend going on right now, but many analysts say that in the future there will be many different pumps at your local gas station. There will no longer be just unleaded and diesel fuels offered. People who are skeptical of this process do not understand the negative impact that fossil fuels have on our environment and the fact that we do need to do something about it now rather than later.
Another positive impact of biodiesel is the increase in life of your car's engine. This is a much cleaner fuel so the damaging impact of deposits on your engine is greatly reduced, so you will get a much longer life out of your car or truck.
With most biodiesel conversions people report that their cars start easier and drive more smoothly. So the benefits of this conversion certainly outweigh the drawbacks. This technology can be applied to many types of vehicles and engines: tractors, boats, SUVs, vans, trucks, construction machinery, agricultural machinery, generators, buses, tows, and automobiles.
This is also not a permanent conversion. If you want to sell your car and the next owner does not want biodiesel you can convert it back to its original state with little problem.
Some of the drawbacks of this type of technology are the lack of supply of biofuels. You cannot just run down the street and put a few gallons of biofuel in the car. Most people either make their own, or purchase a solid vegetable oil depending on what type of conversion they have gone with. Biodiesel conversion will only work for you if you make the time for it. It requires much planning on the production of your fuel and your time available to produce.
Another drawback of biodiesel conversion is finding sources for your oil. I suggest going to local restaurants and offering to dispose of their used oil for them. Most of them would be glad to take it off their hands. If you have the time and the will it is a great way to save money and reduce your carbon footprint.