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Veggie Oil Has Car Cooking Without Gas

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 26, 2008

TAMPA - These days, Akram Zikry often smiles when he catches a whiff of french fries while driving down the street.

Zikry, 41, a biochemist at MacDill Air Force Base, became concerned about the rising cost of fuel. After doing research on the Web, he came up with a way to bypass his local gas station and use waste vegetable oil to fuel the diesel engine of his 1991 Mercedes 350 SD.

He gets the oil from a friend's restaurant and uses a 12-volt utility pump with two hoses on either side to put the oil through a three-step filtering system. The process usually takes a half-hour to an hour to produce 25 gallons of fuel.

The only modification he has made to the diesel engine is to replace a paper fuel filter with a stainless steel one.

The vegetable oil "gives off carbon dioxide and water, which is beneficial to plants," Zikry said.

"It's not for everyone and right now it works only in diesel vehicles, but you will see people using it more and more," he said.

Those seeking information about using waste vegetable oil as fuel for a diesel engine can call Zikry at (813) 833-9273.

Tracy Small

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