Posts Tagged: Belgian Inventor

Dr. Rudolf Diesel invented the well known diesel engine, in the 1890s. The doctor developed the project as an answer to the basic steam engines that have been around since the auto was first invented. The steam engines were inefficient and could be dangerous, and the diesel engine was lauded for its reliability as an alternative.

The diesel engine was very different to the petrol engine and the diesel worked on the basis of ignition compression. Air is drawn into the engine cylinder and when the piston rises it compresses this air, which automatically ignites, emitting the power. On the other hand, the petrol engine relies on a spark to explode the fuel mix and requires a backup system of leads, coils and pipes to work.

While the first public demonstration of what was essentially the early “bio diesel” engine occurred in 1900, it was to be the 1930s before modern biodiesel fuel was developed through the conversion of vegetable oils 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. As the vegetable oil was subject to a higher viscosity, experimentation resulted in further development and the emergence of what we now know as 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. At this time the process was perfected, making biodiesel fuel a very real alternative for environmentalists and those concerned about society.

Biodiesel first gained widespread acceptance in Europe in the 1990s, due to much higher prices of petro diesel. Biodiesel first went into production in the US in 1996, and during the decade to follow it has become more and more available and the subject of more interest in general.

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. These days, homemade biodiesel has become an interesting alternative for independent people as they seek to become better stewards of the environment as well. 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.