It doesn't explode like gasoline and it can absorb water, which could cause rust and corrosion. Both fossil fuels and plants are made up of chains of chemicals known as hydrocarbons . A hydrocarbon is a carbon atom surrounded by hydrogen atoms. The simplest hydrocarbon is methane , which is a single carbon atom surrounded by four hydrogen atoms. Gasoline varies from seven to 10 hydrocarbons in length.
Fuel made of fewer hydrocarbons is more explosive, offering more power to the engine.
Plant oils are between 14 and 18 hydrocarbons in length, which makes them too long for use in today's gasoline engines . However, there are some vegetable oils with shorter carbon chains. Coconut oil, tropical oils and similar plant oils could be made into a gasoline-like fuel. It might also be possible to genetically modify corn and soybeans, two of the highest oil-yielding plants, to produce plant oils that could be converted into a type of fuel. In fact, before World War II, most of these products were made from vegetable oils or other plant materials.