A University of Regina engineering student has successfully converted a diesel engine in a 2002 Volkswagen Golf to run on used vegetable oil.

On the outside, nothing appears unusual about Josh Dumalski's Volkswagen Golf. (Abby Schneider/CBC)

Josh Dumalski, a fourth-year student, and two other classmates spent eight months working out the bugs in their system.

"Vegetable oil is very similar to diesel," Dumalski said about the successful switch, adding that the vegetable oil does not contain additives such as sulphur, making it better for the environment.

The car starts out using diesel fuel. Once the engine is hot enough, Dumalski moves a switch he installed under the radio.

'Driving around, you tend to get hungry.'— Engineering student Josh Dumalski

"All we do is flip this switch right here and in about three seconds, it's pure vegetable oil," he said.

Once the car gets going, Dumalski can drive about 1,000 kilometres on a single tank of vegetable oil, obtained free from a Regina restaurant.

"Our main goal is to use a renewable fuel source that's sustainable and locally grown, so we chose vegetable oil," Dumalski said.

His vegetable-oil-fuelled car includes a specialized tank and a complicated electrical system to control the conversion process.

A closer inspection reveals the secret: vegetable oil power. (Abby Schneider/CBC)

"There's about 500 or 600 feet of wiring in this design," Dumalski said, "so there's a lot of wire in here, a lot of hours of electrical work."

$2,000 per vehicle to replicate work

After spending eight months on the prototype, Dumalski said he believes he can replicate the work for less than $2,000 per vehicle, and deliver comparable performance to an unmodified car.

"On standard diesel operation, you're looking between 45 to 55 miles per gallon and running on vegetable oil is identical," he said.

Dumalski said he did discover a curious side-effect to the conversion process — the exhaust produced smells like whatever was fried in the vegetable oil.

"So shrimp, fries, whatever it is … driving around, you tend to get hungry."

Dumalski hopes to use his technology to convert vehicles like taxis or buses, he said.