Biofuel   Biotechnology. a solid, liquid, or gaseous fuel that is obtained from biological raw material; the conversion is accomplished through thermochemical or biological methods.

Biofuel is also referred to by alternate names and spellings: bio-fuel, biodiesel, and bio-diesel.

It is a renewable resource made from conversion of vegetable oils, and can be used as a substitute for, or as an additive in any percentage solution in, petroleum diesel fuels.   

Bio-fuel has been officially designated as an alternative fuel by the 1998 Amendment of the EPAct of 1992.  Its use helps normal diesel-powered vehicles qualify as AFVs (Alternative Fueled Vehicles), thereby meeting standards set out for government fleets under Executive Order 13149 relating to the greening of government.  

For those more familiar with ethanol, biofuel is to petroleum diesel what ethanol is to gasoline.  The ethanol industry has experienced a meteoric rise in volume over the last few years.  A number of factors serve to confirm that biofuel has started on a similar growth pattern.