Historical background

Historical background

On 31 August 1937, G. Chavanne of the University of Brussels (Belgium) was granted a patent for a “Procedure for the transformation of vegetable oils for their uses as fuels” (fr. “Procédé de Transformation d’Huiles Végétales en Vue de Leur Utilisation come to Carburants”) Belgian Patent 422,877. This patent described the alcoholysis (often referred to as transesterification) of vegetable oils using ethanol (and mentions methanol) in order to separate the fatty acids from the glycerol by replacing the glycerol with short linear alcohols. This appears to be the first account of the production of what is known as “biodiesel” today. This is similar to the patented methods used in the 18th century to make lamp-oil and maybe inspired by some old historical oil lamps, in some places.

It is often reported that Diesel designed his engine to run on peanut oil, but this is not the case. Diesel stated in his published papers, “at the Paris Exhibition in 1900 (Exposition Universelle) there was shown by the Otto Company a small Diesel engine, which, at the request of the French government ran on the archive (earth-nut or pea-nut) oil (see biodiesel), and worked so smoothly that only a few people were aware of it. The engine was constructed for using mineral oil and was then worked on vegetable oil without any alterations being made. The French Government at the time thought of testing the applicability to power production of the Archive, or earth-nut, which grows in considerable quantities in their African colonies, and can easily be cultivated there.” Diesel himself later conducted related tests and appeared supportive of the idea. Historical background

Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with alcohol, producing a methyl, ethyl, or propyl ester. Unlike the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines, biodiesel is a drop-in biofuel, meaning it is compatible with existing diesel engines and distribution infrastructure. Biodiesel can be used alone or blended with petrodiesel in any proportions. Biodiesel blends can also be used as heating oil. The US National Biodiesel Board defines “biodiesel” as a mono-alkyl ester., Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, palm oil or some other vegetable oil with alcohol, producing a methyl, ethyl or propyl ester. Unlike the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines, biodiesel is a drop-in biofuel, meaning it is compatible with existing diesel engines and distribution infrastructure. Biodiesel can be used alone or blended with petrodiesel in any proportions. Biodiesel blends can also be used as heating oil. The US National Biodiesel Board defines “biodiesel” as a mono-alkyl ester.