At Incredible Adventures, we believe strongly in maintaining the wild lands and National Parks of California (and all over the world), and know that tourism can be a strong factor in whether these magnificent areas continue to thrive for future generations to enjoy. In order to minimize the environmental impact of our business on the destinations we visit, we operate our vehicles on sustainable, petroleum-free biofuel made from recycled cooking oil and renewable plant-based stocks. Our fleet is made up of 13-20 passenger mini-coaches which all run on petroleum-free renewable fuel!
Incredible Adventures is operating on RB20 fuel: a blend of 20% pure domestic BioDiesel and 80% HDR Renewable Diesel. This is the highest legally-allowed BioDiesel blend in California at this time, and a completely renewable and petroleum-free fuel.
Biodiesel is a petroleum-free alternative fuel. As opposed to regular diesel made of fossil hydrocarbons (petroleum), biofuel is made from renewable organic raw materials like vegetable oil. This fuel was originally invented by farmers who wanted to run their tractors off of products grown on their own farms! As such, it’s a testament to sustainability and an indepencence from commercial and foreign oil interests.
Biodiesel can be used in diesel (compression-ignition) engines with little or no modification to the engine. In fact, many people say their engine runs smoother using biofuel due to its higher lubricity. Biodiesel is renewable, biodegradable, nontoxic, and emits fewer Greenhous Gas (GHG) emssions than any other form of fuel.
Our biofuel is made in part from recycled vegetable oil collected right here in San Francisco from restaurants and drop-off areas for the public. The fuel is sourced, processed, and distributed all within about 250 miles!
The trucks that pick up the grease to be recycled are ALSO running on this local biofuel – you can bet those farmers would be proud.
Biodiesel is made through a chemical process called transesterification whereby glycerin is separated from the fat found in vegetable oils. The process leaves behind two products — methyl esters (the chemical name for biofuel) and glycerin (a valuable byproduct usually sold to be used in soaps and other products).
The Renewable Diesel in our RB20 blend currently comes from Singapore, blended with local California recycled content B100. This is not as local of a purchase as the B99.9 previously used, but we are still supporting a local business (Dogpatch Biofuels), having a positive environmental impact, and displacing petroleum. We are making every effort we can to hit the highest blend ceiling allowable by the state regulations. We will continue to prioritize sourcing both Renewable Diesel and Biodiesel from local manufacturers, whenever possible, and we continue to lobby to increase the blend ceiling.
Renewable diesel can be produced from soybean, palm, canola, or rapeseed oil; animal tallow; vegetable oil waste or brown trap grease; and other fats and vegetable oils. Producing HDRD involves hydrogenating triglycerides to remove metals and compounds with oxygen and nitrogen using existing refinery infrastructure. Dedicated hydrotreating facilities that do not use conventional petroleum can also produce HDRD. Fuel producers are designing HDRD to substitute for or blend in any proportion with petroleum-based diesel without modifying vehicle engines or fueling infrastructure. To be used in diesel engines, HDRD must meet the same ASTM standards as conventional diesel.
Incredible Adventures is proud to be a certified SF Green Business. We are committed to building a sustainable post-petroleum transportation infrastructure. Our shared future depends on it.
Take a look at our Petroleum-Free Fleet.
