Is cooking oil (or restaurant grease) biodiesel?
No. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel produced from agricultural resources such as vegetable oils. To make biodiesel, the base oil is put through a process called “esterification.” Esterficiation uses a certain type of industrial alcohol (ethanol or methanol) to remove the glycerin from the cooking oil, making it thinner, lighter, and cleaner burning. Cooking oil or recycled greases from restaurants have not been processed into esters are not biodiesel, and are not registered by EPA for legal use in vehicles.
