FUELING THEIR CARS WITHOUT A GAS PUMP MORE MOTORISTS ARE TURNING TO BIODIESEL.

Byline: JASON KANDEL Staff Writer

BURBANK -- The next time Burbank resident Joe Broderick needs diesel for his car, he'll fill up at the local taco stand.

The taco stand has no petroleum, but it's got plenty of used frying oil.

Broderick, a self-described tinkerer, is always on the lookout for the used grease for his car, which he converted to run on a home-brewed mixture of the stale oil.

``I'm doing it pretty much for the environment,'' said Broderick, 44, a freelance TV camera operator who spent $2,000 converting his 2002 Volkswagon Jetta Turbo Direct Injection using a do-it-yourself kit purchased online.

He said he saves about 55 cents a gallon by using vegetable oil instead of diesel.

``With all the global warming stuff going down, it really hit home. I'm just trying to do my little bit,'' he said.

Although there is no data tracking the number of consumers using biodiesel vehicles, Broderick may be among a growing number using the canola- or soybean-based oils in diesel engines.

Joe Gershen, who runs a biodiesel distributor called L.A. BioFuel, said more consumers and cities are using biodiesel because of the cost savings, the growing availability and the idea that it creates less toxic soot than its petroleum counterpart.

``There's been quite a dramatic uptick in the use of biodiesel,'' said Gershen, adding that West Los Angeles added a second biodiesel fueling station this year.

``Biodiesel is the fastest-growing alternative fuel in the country. You're seeing people who are pretty environmentally oriented using it. They want to get off foreign oil.''

Gennet Paauwe, a spokewoman for the state Air Resources Board, which has formed a biodiesel working group to study the issue, said rising gas prices are helping fuel the trend.

``People are concerned about gas prices right now, and air quality is at the top of the list for many Californians,'' she said. ``It's another alternative to traditional fuels that are on the road today.''

The trend is catching on in cities such as Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, which all have been using a blend of biodiesel in city trucks.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District is sponsoring a project with Santa Monica to determine biodiesel emission reductions on two heavy-duty vehicles, said Sam Atwood a spokesman with the AQMD.

The AQMD is also starting a technology roundtable to discuss clean vehicle technologies and plans to hold a biodiesel conference in August.

But while the fuel does produce less toxic soot and fewer emissions linked to acid rain and global warming, it also produces more nitrogen oxides -- NOx -- a key ingredient in smog and particulate matter.

Officials are hoping new technology will help cut NOx levels to below the levels produced by petroleum diesel in the near future.

``We're working really hard to reduce air emissions,'' said Chung Liu, deputy executive officer for the AQMD who oversees science and technology advancement. ``We have a long way to go. It may offer a benefit on global warming because it's a renewable fuel. It looks like biodiesel has a great potential to penetrate into the transportation fuel market.''

Broderick got the idea to convert his car from his friends. He began surfing the Internet to learn more about biodiesel, bought a kit online and installed it himself within a week.

Last week he started a blog -- www.kungpaojetta.com -- highlighting his experiences.

``I don't know if it will catch on,'' he said. ``It's for the tinkerer. It isn't for everyone. There's some maintenance involved. But I'm hopeful. I hope that it catches on and that more people will do it to help the environment.''

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com

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(1 -- 2) Joe Broderick of Burbank, using a kit he ordered from the Internet, has converted his Volkswagen Jetta to run on vegetable oil collected from local restaurants. Broderick says his revamped engine, below, saves him 55 cents a gallon.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer