International Biodiesel Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated annually on August 10th. It commemorates the first start of a diesel engine, which occurred on this day in 1893.
Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters derived from animal fat or vegetable oil. The diesel engine was invented and named after Rudolf Diesel, a German inventor and mechanical engineer. In 1878, while studying at the Technical University of Munich, he conceived the idea of creating a highly efficient engine, but it took him another fifteen years to build it.
Diesel built his first prototype in early summer 1893 and started it for the first time on August 10, 1893. Some sources claim that peanut oil was used as fuel in the prototype. While Diesel was indeed a proponent of using vegetable oil as fuel, his first engine most likely ran on petrol. However, since he did consider the possibility of using peanut oil, it was decided to celebrate International Biodiesel Day on August 10th to commemorate the invention of the diesel engine.
Several countries experimented with using vegetable oils as diesel fuel in the 1920s and 1930s, but these tests led to some operational problems due to the high viscosity of such oils. Eventually, it became easier to use fuel derived from petroleum.
Modern Biodiesel
The history of modern biodiesel began in 1977 when Brazilian engineer and inventor Expedito Parente patented the first industrial process for producing biodiesel. In 1979, South African engineers began researching and improving the process. The first pilot plant for producing biodiesel was built in Austria in 1987, and the first commercial plant was opened by the same company two years later. Throughout the 1990s, several biodiesel production plants opened across Europe.
Today, biodiesel (pure or blended with petroleum diesel) is used in cars, trains, and planes, as heating fuel, in generators, and for cleaning up oil spills (by dissolving crude oil). The main advantages of biodiesel are that it increases energy security, as it is renewable unlike petroleum diesel; it helps reduce emissions, which positively impacts air quality; and it results in much less damage than fossil fuels if accidentally spilled or released into the environment.
International Biodiesel Day was created to promote biodiesel as a renewable and environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based fuels. Although biodiesel has its drawbacks (for example, diverting agricultural land or crops for biodiesel production can impact food supplies in poor countries), the more alternative energy sources we have, the better for the environment and our future.