Good morning.

I thought this deserved a new thread as it concerns the use of Bio Diesel and is for information. I hope Diesel users will find it useful.

I drive around Europe quite a bit and I'm always concerned when I go to fill up, what I'll actually be getting. Labelling has improved over the years thankfully, but in France it can be a bit daunting as most stations now are for self use and unattended, particularly at night. I'll be driving back to the UK from the south of Spain via France this week, and although I can go a very long way on a tank of Diesel, I have to fill up once on the way.

France does have some really nice new pumps and they're becoming more common. Touch your country flag on the screen and it all comes up in your language. It even talks to you and tells you what you have selected BEFORE you put it in your tank. It then thanks you for your custom and wishes you a good journey. Nice touch! I haven't seen any in the UK, but there might well be something similar somewhere.

With the ever increasing pressure to make fuel compliant with the latest regulations, it's even more critical that you know what your engine can cope with. B10 is the strongest at the moment, a step up from B7 (which could contain any percentage).

I've found the attached info which might help

**LINK**

I knowingly don't put any Bio Diesel in my car, but you have to trust the label and supplier.

Yeah, interesting document but as always there's and equal and opposite view. Have a look at the BMW Malaysia report on B10 fuel. Pretty horrific, and that's a warm country. The environmentalists seem to be contradicting their motives. On the one hand they say we should be using alternative fuel such as Bio fuel, and then they say we should stop using Palm oil! Can't have it both ways in my opinion. I'm against the rapid growth in the use of Palm oil, especially when it's a main constituent of Bio Diesel, and so many forests are being destroyed to grow the stuff.

Several reports on the internet indicate using Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) in Diesel is bad if the percentage goes too high, and they reckon 10% is too high, with 15% suggested in many areas. Personally I would rather believe the manufacturer of my car than the Lord Mayor of London, who's only real objective is to financially penalize anyone driving into London in a Diesel car, below a certain CAT figure. Mine happens to be in excess of CAT 6, so I can drive into London without paying. I have no wish to do that anymore though!

It's all very well the EU insisting we achieve certain levels of pollution by 2020, but maybe the side effects of the methods chosen are too great, we'll have to see.

Anyway, it's important that owners of Diesel vehicles are made aware of the potential damage to their engine. It's then up to them whether or not they use it.