Welcome To SNAP Green Tech

SNAP focuses on Sustainable New Alternatives to Petroleum by providing products and services to address current needs and issues associated with PPO (Pure Plant Oil), Biodiesel, and ULSD Fuel.

• Pure Plant Oil (PPO) – SNAP carries Filters, Tank Heaters, In-Line Heaters, Biofuels-rated Hose, and Fuel Additives for vehicles using PPO as a fuel. These products are necessary to protect the engine from debris/water and to ensure that the oil is heated sufficiently from the fuel tank to the engine. PPO Hybrids require fully heated systems due to the higher viscosity (thickness) of the Plant Oil.


• Biodiesel – SNAP carries Filters, Tank Heaters, In-Line Heaters, Biofuels-rated Hose, and Fuel Additives for vehicles using Biodiesel or Biodiesel blends as a fuel. These products are necessary to protect the engine from debris/water and to ensure that the Biodiesel is heated sufficiently from the fuel tank to the engine to prevent gelling in colder temperatures.


• ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel) – SNAP carries Filters, Tank Heaters, In-Line Heaters, Biofuels-rated Hose, and Fuel Additives for vehicles using ULSD as a fuel. These products are necessary to protect the engine from debris/water and to ensure that the ULSD is heated sufficiently from the fuel tank to the engine to prevent gelling in colder temperatures.

SNAP Focuses on Petroleum Alternatives for Diesel Engines because Diesel Engines are one of the world's foremost methods of transportation and energy production. These applications consume massive amounts of fuel. In 2008, the US alone consumed 1,174,004,000 Barrels (49,308,168,000 gallons) of ULSD (Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel.)

New Policies and Technologies will increase the rate and effectiveness of reducing fuel consumption, reducing GHG (Green House Gas) Emissions, and replacing fossil fuels with renewable fuels. SNAP Green Tech's focus is to provide sustainable, cost-saving solutions for heavy-duty, medium-duty and generator diesel applications to complement these new policies and technology.

These Hybrid solutions will assist in achieving mandated emissions compliance and guarantee to show significant fuel-cost savings. Many of these Solutions can be applied to Light-duty applications, as well.

Please feel free to browse the site and check our Learning Center for more information on PPO, Biodiesel and ULSD.

Check the latest Green News to see what new, sustainable technologies are on the world horizon.

If you decide that PPO technology, Biodiesel or even ULSD upgrades are right for you, please visit our SNAP Store to research and purchase the right products for your application.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to Contact Us

Positive energy change can be realized through modification of existing technology. Snap Green Tech is committed to facilitating that change.

What are Biofuels?

These are fuels that may be produced from renewable, sustainable sources of biomass. They can be in solid, liquid or gas states. Biofuels include bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, bio-synthetic gas (bio-syngas), bio-oil, bio-char, Fischer-Tropsch liquids, biohydrogen, biobutanol, vegetable oils, biomethanol, and pyrolysis oils. The two most prevalent biomass fuel substitutes are bioethanol and biodiesel. Ideally, the production and burning of biofuels should result in a net-carbon reduction.

The most important factor of biofuels is that they can be produced in a sustainable manner from renewable sources. Sustainability can be determined by calculating energy impact factors.

Life Cycle Assessments are important to determine whether a biomass feedstock and fuel are truly a sustainable alternative to conventional petroleum. It is important to determine if the energy gained exceeded the energy input necessary to create the fuel. In addition, evaluating the true environmental impacts of producing the feedstock to produce the particular fuel is very important.

SNAP Green focuses on solutions for diesel engines and other applications burning similar diesel fuels. Currently diesel fuel substitutes derived from triglycerides (plant oil, waste restaurant grease, rendered animal fats) are the most promising source for truly sustainable fuel alternatives in diesel engines.

There are two common applications for biomass oil in diesel engines, Pure Plant Oil and Biodiesel. Pure Plant Oil (PPO) may also be referred to as Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO), Vegetable Oil (VO), Used Vegetable Oil (UVO), and Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO.) Pure Plant Oil refers to fuel that is in a raw, unaltered chemical state. Biodiesel refers to the chemical transesterfication of plant oil that produces a fuel with viscosity more similar to diesel.

PPO Technology Explained

The injection, atomization and combustion property of Pure Plant Oil (PPO) in diesel engines is significantly different from those of conventional diesel fuels due to the higher viscosity (thickness) of PPO. Regardless of viscosity, the molecular structure is similar enough that with little fuel system modification, diesel engines can burn these renewable hydrocarbons. To reduce the viscosity of the PPO and allow for proper injection and atomization in the engine, SNAP recommends a "dual-Tank" fully heated, fuel system upgrade. This should essentially upgrade almost any pre-2007 diesel vehicle into a diesel-PPO-biodiesel hybrid.

System Components

A fully equipped upgrade would include the following:

• At least on (1) dedicated Diesel (Biodiesel) Tank (usually the stock fuel tank)
• At least one (1) dedicated, Heated PPO tank
• Heated PPO Fuel Hose that runs from the Heated PPO Fuel Tank to the Engine
• Heated, In-line PPO filter is required (one of the most important components to prevent engine damage if any contamination occurs)
• Switching Valve to control the fuel selection
• Computer controller can assist in managing the operation of a PPO system.

In most vehicles, there are no modifications to the factory engine components. Heavy-duty engines are most properly geared towards running PPO due to their more robust stock parts and injection systems. However, PPO has been run successfully in a wide range of diesel engines. A good rule of thumb to follow is if the diesel engine is reliable and has a good reputation for running diesel well, it will most likely run PPO well.

The heat needed for a PPO system can be harnessed from two sources:

• directly from the engine waste heat and plumbed from the stock cooling system
• electric heat in 12v, 24v, 120v, 220v products

Most systems utilize both coolant and electric heat to optimize operating conditions.

Operating PPO Hybrid Diesel Vehicles

Due to the high viscosity of PPO, it is not recommended to start the vehicle on PPO. SNAP recommends starting the vehicle on diesel or biodiesel. Upon starting the vehicle on diesel, all electric heaters will have activated to accelerate heating the PPO. The coolant related heating components will slowly start circulating hot coolant to sustain an even higher temperature. Once the engine has achieved operating temperatures (noted on the temperature gauge in the vehicle) a properly installed system will allow the user to switch over to using the heated PPO. Please note that the switch can be manual or computer controlled.

PPO can then be used for the duration of the trip. As long as the engine remains hot enough to produce heat in the cooling system, the operator can continue using PPO. At the end of the trip or during long idle periods, the operator must switch back to diesel to purge the injection system of PPO. This allows the engine to start properly on diesel the next time. PPO and Biodiesel are the only two types of fuel in the alternative fuels market that can be immediately applied to industry and commercial applications.

Why PPO and Biodiesel?

Both PPO (Pure Pant Oil) and Biodiesel are non-toxic, renewable and when combusted in a diesel engine, result in a reduction in emissions of PAH, CO, HC, soot, aromatics and no SO2 output. Most research shows +/- 10% in NOx emission. In addition, renewable and/or recycled raw fuel sources such as PPO can be certified carbon-neutral.

This means that utilizing PPO as a fuel produces as much carbon as the plant sequestered while it was growing. Unlike fossil fuels that are produced from decayed bio-mass with sequestered carbon from millions of years ago, renewable fuels can potentially assist in a closed carbon cycle.

SNAP recognizes that "first generation" biofuels had issues regarding environmental and social sustainability. Although many initial Political proponents of biofuels were quick to call biodiesel and bioethanol the silver bullet of the US's energy crisis and implemented new mandates for biofuel consumption (EISA 2007-pdf), there are new modifications to these mandates that address these concerns.

Some of the issues with current biofuels may be:

Feedstock availability to produce fuels

- suitable crops for highest fuel yields - producing enough fuel feedstock to supplement the current demand for fuel

Competition with food feedstocks

- there are some indications that food crops such as soy and corn might affect food supplies and prices on the market

Environmental degradation to accommodate biofuel cultivation

- cleared land may release more carbon - fertilizer/water intensive crops - social displacement of people in countries feeding the biofuel supply chain for developed nations

Fuel combustion in engines

- newer engines may not be as accommodating for first generation biofuels

Standardization of fuels and applications

- lack of initial standardization created issues within biofuel communities with some identically-labeled fuels being less suitable to use than others with regards to corrosiveness - cold-weather performance - water/particulate matter contamination

General consumer awareness of the operational differences between conventional fuels and biofuels

- many biofuels are not a one-for-one substitute for conventional petroleum fuels - consumer education important for real-world viability

With advancements in biofuels technology, the emergence of "second-generation" biofuels and more awareness of the impending decline of petroleum availability, SNAP believes that the current concerns and issues with many biofuels will be mitigated.

SNAP is dedicated to addressing these issues in an effort to improve biofuel applications and broaden their use. SNAP focuses on PPO and biodiesel as they are accessible energy solutions for solving today's fuel needs. PPO is a great option for those looking to realize greater savings over the lifetime of the vehicle ownership and those not interested in creating their own biodiesel through chemical means.