BioWillie

On the Road Again” means something new for Willie Nelson these days — a chance for truckers to fill their tanks with clean-burning biodiesel fuel.Nelson and three business partners recently formed a company called Willie Nelson’s Biodiesel that is marketing the fuel to truck stops. The fuel, called BioWillie, is made from vegetable oils, mainly soybeans, and can be burned without modification to diesel engines.It may be difficult to picture the 71-year-old hair-braided Texas rebel as an energy company executive, but the singer’s new gig is in many ways about social responsibility — and that is classic Nelson.“There is really no need going around starting wars over oil. We have it here at home. We have the necessary product, the farmers can grow it,” said Nelson, who organized Farm Aid two decades ago to draw attention to the plight of American agriculture. Nelson has a long history with the combustion of naturally grown organic products, so this should be a natural.
Most people don't realize it, but the diesel engine was originally designed to run on some form of natural vegetable oil -- not petroleum-based diesel. Unlike a gas engine -- which uses a spark to ignite a highly volatile mixture of fuel and oil -- diesels rely on extreme compression and heat to ignite the fuel. This is why vegetable oil -- everything from soybeans to strained grease from a fast-food fry pit -- can be used to power a diesel engine, often with very few (or even no) modification to the engine itself. Willie uses the fuel himself -- for both his personal vehicles as well as his diesel-powered tour bus. Soon, you might be using it, too -- especially at $1.79 per gallon! It's cheaper than regular diesel because homegrown soybeans are less expensive than Saudi Arabian crude.
Click HERE for more info on Willie's company.
If you don't mind getting your hands a little greasy, you can do Willie one better -- and fill your tank for free. All you've got to do is scrounge up enough waste vegetable oil,strain it of loose fries and bits of General Tso's -- and motor on. Many restaurants already have contracts with companies to pick up this used oil already. So you might have trouble finding a large enough supply. Not to mention digging up your back yard to install the storage tank and other needed equipment.Most any diesel engine can be run on waste vegetable oil with a few modifications to the fuel lines/storage tank to prevent congealing in low temperatures. The only downside is the down and dirty nature of the fuel -- and the fast food fry pit smell that will blossom out of your vehicle's tailpipe.This may also lead to you being pulled over by a hungry traffic cop.
Read more about this process HERE