Can recycled fat get your old diesel car to run with a good conscience?

CHRONICLE: I drive French. When it comes to cars, that is. A Renault. The model is called Grand Scenic and in a Blocket advert that attracted much attention, it is claimed that it means Serious Stroke, but I don't agree. For me, it means the great love affair. Like a pair of old tennis shoes. Or a pair of really worn-out jeans. A relationship that others can look down their noses at, but for oneself is deep, intimate and... yes, beautiful.

Text: Johan Emanuel, Project Manager, IMCG   

IThe specification prior to the purchase of the second-hand French car was that the family needed a seven-seat car for transporting handball players, size "small", a car where the passengers sat high up to combat travel sickness and a car that could manage camping equipment, freight of building materials and could cope with an annual long trip through Europe with the Adriatic as destination.

Everything has worked out well. My love has grown in step with the increasing mileage, and I am happy to overlook a few oddities. For example, the GPS and instrument backlighting comes on spontaneously in the middle of the night and remains lit for a few seconds. Before it goes out again. I have seen this happen while standing at the kitchen window in the small hours and drinking milk straight from the carton. I believe she is a light sleeper and wakes up at times to check that we are alright.

While I wait for the large cable (!), I fill up with recycled HVO100, which is a fuel based on 100% hydrated vegetable oils, recycled fat and other residues.

Diesel yes, I fill up with diesel, there's my confession. My car spreads more harmful particles than a petrol car. It also promotes climate change much more than an electric car that is powered by solar or wind electricity (if you ignore the manufacturing process, which I like to do). These will be crucial factors the next time I change cars, but we will have a few more ears together before it is time to separate. That is the plan, and that is what my heart says – even if my brain has already bought a plug-in hybrid.

While I wait for the large cable (!), I fill up with recycled HVO100, which is a fuel based on 100% hydrated vegetable oils, recycled fat and other residues. To date, as far as I know, it is only Citroen and Peugeot have approved HVO100 for passenger cars. But, if it is good enough for others, it is also good enough for my Renault.

Please note, I am not recommending you to change to HVO100 if you normally drive on diesel today. It is – as the staff at the petrol station say – completely at your own risk, unless the manufacturer recommends it. This is how I think: if I continue to fill up with diesel based on fossil oil, I am taking a greater environmental risk than if I take a chance on a vegetable-based oil molecule, which is refined to be a copy of the "normal" diesel molecule and works in the same way in a nine year old diesel engine.

My point is not that you should immediately change from diesel to HVO100. My point is that whatever you do, you always have one or more choices. You choose to be safe; you can choose to be economic, you can choose to be sustainable. Sometimes, you are going to make the wrong choice, but more often, if you trust your and other's knowledge, experience and wisdom, you will make the right choice. Every day you meet a large number of choices, where you can optimise the sustainability and minimise the environmental impact in each particular situation.

So, I admit I choose to take a few chances with my French lady. However, she and I agree that a little excitement in existence increases the experience of life.

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