A Brief History of Diesel Fuel and Its Uses

Diesel is one of many fuels consumers have at their disposal. Diesel fuel is used widely in the United States in agriculture, transportation, construction, and the military. Indeed, about 20% of petroleum consumptionin the US is diesel fuel. Despite its wide usage in the United States, though, diesel fuel and the engines it powers got their start in Europe.

Basics of Diesel Fuel

At its most basic, diesel is a petroleum product like gasoline. However, they're very different end products because of how they're produced. Both diesel and gasoline start as crude oil. However, in the refinery, the distillers process the crude oil into lighter and heavier liquids. Gasoline comes from the lightest liquid. Diesel fuel comes from the second heaviest component.

Diesel fuel is more stable and less flammable than gasoline. Diesel engines must use compression and high temperatures to ignite the dense fuel. For that reason, they're more expensive to produce and buy at the consumer level. However, the tradeoff is fuel efficiency. Diesel fuel's relative density means the engines get more miles per gallon than gas-powered models.

Rudolf Diesel and His Invention

The inventor of the diesel engine leant his name to the invention - Robert Diesel. When he was a student at the Royal Bavarian Polytechnic in Munich, Germany, he listened to a lecture on thermodynamics that claimed internal combustion engines could convert 100% of their heat into work. At the time, such engines could only convert 10%.

Diesel saw that inefficiency as a challenge. Gasoline engines then and now use compression on the fuel and air to prepare the gas for ignition via a spark plug. Diesel started working on an engine that compressed only the air. This compression makes the air hot enough that it ignites the dense diesel fuel without needing a spark. He applied for patents in 1892 and 1893.

Early prototypes of the diesel engine were unreliable. Unfortunately, Rudolf Diesel had to refund a lot of his early sales. So, by the time his invention was in use in military transports in the early 1900s, his financial difficulties were too significant to overcome. He died mysteriously - either of suicide or murder - while onboard a ship to England in 1913.

Historical Uses of Diesel Fuel

In Rudolf Diesel's time, steam-powered and gas-powered engines were the main workhorses. Diesel designed his original engine as a replacement for these inefficient models. By the time of his death, thousands of diesel engines were in use around the world. However, the engines were mainly in use in factories or for generators.

The military in Europe took an interest in a fuel that runs efficiently. France purchased diesel engines for use in their submarines. Britain was interested in doing the same, but Diesel's death prevented that occurrence. Nonetheless, by 1939, diesel fueled 25% of the global sea trade. During World War II, diesel-fueled engines drove enormous ships.

As the technology improved, diesel engines eventually started to live up to their inventor's dream. Manufacturers started using the engines for the trucking industry in the 1920s. Next, the use of diesel-fueled engines revolutionized the railroad injury. By the 1930s, many trains ran on diesel fuel.

Because Rudolf Diesel was a native German, German manufacturers highly prized his engine. Automobile manufacturers starting making diesel-fueled cars in the 1920s and 1930s. Germans and all Europeans favored diesel-fueled cars for several decades.

Eventually, the diesel engine made its way over to the United States as well.

Next time you look at your diesel-fueled car, generator, or work machinery, think about how that engine came into existence. You might have a new appreciation of the history that went into its invention. For the diesel fuel itself, contact Biltmore Oil.