February 21st, 2010 10:13 pm
Dr. Rudolph Diesel was the inventor of the ubiquitous diesel engine, way back in the 1890s. The engine’s development was basically an answer to the rudimentary steam engines that had been in existence since the auto-mobile emerged. Steam engines were known to be dangerous and could be very unreliable, not like the diesel engine, which was then popular.
Unlike the petrol engine that was to gain wider acceptance, the diesel engine operates on the basis of compression – ignition. Air is drawn into the engine cylinder and when the piston rises it compresses this air, which automatically ignites, emitting the power. The petrol engine on the other hand uses a spark to ignite a fuel/air mix when the air is compressed, and needs a somewhat complex “backup” system of plugs, coils and leads.
It is said that the public first got to see the early biodiesel engine at the turn of the century, but it was to be the 1930s before biodiesel fuel was developed, at the time when the oils were converted into fatty acid methyl esters.
Following the war period and during times of relative plenty, there was little real interest in biodiesel as an alternative. Petro diesel was very cheap and the early versions of vegetable oil based fuels were not suitable for the diesel engines of the time. The vegetable oil in use had a much higher viscosity than petro diesel fuel and this led to experimentation and the development of what we now know as modern biodiesel.
Transesterification, the process of converting vegetable oils and making them available as a diesel fuel replacement was initially mooted by a Belgian inventor back in 1937, but it was not perfected until the 1980s, when complex socio-economic factors combined to draw our attention towards efficiency and energy security. The process of transesterification was successfully matched at this time, making biodiesel fuel a real alternative to those concerned about the environment.
Biodiesel first gained widespread acceptance in Europe in the 1990s, due to much higher prices of petro diesel. Biodiesel was first produced in 1996 in the United States and since that time has grown to be more widely available and become the subject of much speculation.
Our society as a whole has become much more aware of damage caused to our environment through industrial and automotive pollution. As we are becoming more aware, energy production costs have been shooting upward. When gas prices reached the peaks in the United States recently, consumers really became aware of sustainability and the need to become more efficient. Petro diesel costs more than regular gasoline and either method digs into the typical monthly budget cost, so alternatives that are seen to be better for the environment are becoming more popular.
There are exciting times ahead for biodiesel as we seek to constrain our spending, become more secure and focus on environmental issues. Nowadays, homemade biodiesel is becoming a stepping stone for many as they seek to attain an element of independence and environmental stewardship. It comes down to the simple equation of whether a sustainable fuel solution can be produced at a lesser cost than the readily available alternative, and in this case, biodiesel is most definitely the answer. It’s a real solution, and a way forward.
Tags: biodiesel, diesel, engine, environment, fuel