Has anyone else noticed the recent success of this project/PR stunt?

Is such usage of Waste Vegetable oil legal in CH? Anyone converted their car?

See: http://www.fatfinding.com/fatpower.php

Apparently it's a way around fuel tax for now...

There's a (five years old) article about a German in Valais who filters his own oil and uses it in his Diesel VW. He gets the oil from two hospital kitchens for free.

I wonder if he fills the tank with diesel or home-made oil for the emission test.

In the UK, you still have to register as a biofuel producer and you are only tax exempt if you make less than 2,500 litres a year. I have no idea if this applies in the rest of the EU or in Switzerland.
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/excise-duty/brief4307.htm

It seems that Biofuel may just be a temporary solution and only take a small percentage of the market. As grain prices increase, there is much debate as to whether it is appropriate to use land to grow corn etc. for fuel.

In the UK the price of cooking oil has recently jumped in price to match the increases in diesel prices. The large savings that were available have generally disappeared.

The same is likely to happen with waste oil as more companies see it as a commodity rather than a waste product.

It is possible to run a diesel car on clean cooking oil, though it is not recommended. It is thicker than diesel and doesn't have the various additives to protect the engine. The most common problem is blocked injectors. There have been cases of people filtering waste oil and using that in their cars, often with expensive bills to follow.

It has been more successful to mix clean oil with diesel 50/50 but the cost savings are negligible with the risk of higher maintenance bills

Unless research comes up with an alternative production source, it is likely to remain a minority fuel.

Rod