Ethanol is a grain alcohol that can be blended with gasoline and used in motor vehicles. Many gasoline stations provide a blended fuel, which typically is 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline.

Biodiesel is a type of bio-fuel which is used to fuel cars and other vehicles. Biodiesel is used as alternative petroleum oil. Biodiesel is special because it is a clean resource and is safe to use in our environment, compared to other fuels that pollute the planet. Biodiesel is made from renewable resources which make it easier to produce. Biodiesel also lubricates car engines, which decreases engine wear, making the engine last longer. Speaking of engines, biodiesel is compatible with most car engines that run on diesel. According to researchers, biodiesel can reduce the risk of cancer, which the emitting of petroleum oil have been known to cause.

Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), known as biodiesel, are products of plant or animal origin whose composition and properties are defined by the European Union in standard EN 14214. There is an exception for the iodine value for Spain, which has been established as 140 rather than the 120 proposed by standard EN 14214.

A century ago, Henry Ford’s first car ran on alcohol, while Rudolf Diesel fired his namesake engine with peanut oil. But both inventors soon discovered that “rock oil,” when slightly refined, held far more bang per gallon than plant fuel, and was cheap to boot. Oil soon left plant fuels in the dust. Only in periods of scarcity—like the OPEC oil embargo of 1973—did the U.S. and other countries turn back to ethanol, mixing it into gasoline to stretch supplies.

A century ago, Henry Ford’s first car ran on alcohol, while Rudolf Diesel fired his namesake engine with peanut oil. But both inventors soon discovered that “rock oil,” when slightly refined, held far more bang per gallon than plant fuel, and was cheap to boot. Oil soon left plant fuels in the dust. Only in periods of scarcity—like the OPEC oil embargo of 1973—did the U.S. and other countries turn back to ethanol, mixing it into gasoline to stretch supplies.