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Fueling Around: The Story of the Veggie Van
A Bit of History
When Rudolf Diesel unveiled the Diesel engine at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, he shocked reputable scientists and inventors by pouring peanut oil into his engine. It is not surprising that Rudolf Diesel designed the Diesel engine to run on vegetable oil considering that the brilliant inventor spent his childhood in the agricultural provinces of France and Germany. He grew up around farmers and knew their troubles and needs.
Throughout his career, Dr. Diesel promoted the benefits of agricultural fuel. In a speech given at a technical institute in Germany in 1911 he said, “The Diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and would help considerably in the development of agriculture and the countries which use it.” Two years later, Diesel was on a trip across the English Channel when he disappeared. A few days later, his body was found afloat in the English Channel. The English newspapers suggested that Dr. Rudolf Diesel was assassinated by foreign agents.
Reinventing Diesel’s Vision
After Diesel’s death, the idea of fueling engines with vegetable oil was quickly and quietly swept under the rug. His original designs were modified and Diesel engines were made to run on the cheapest, most abundant fuel available: petroleum.
It was not until the oil crisis of the 1970's that the idea of using vegetable oil as an engine fuel was again given serious thought. Universities in the US and Europe developed methods for using vegetable oil as a fuel for modern-day Diesel engines.
Vegetable oil is too thick to use directly in modern Diesel engine fuel injection systems. Nevertheless, researchers discovered three methods of using vegetable oil to fuel a Diesel engine: 1. mix the vegetable oil with a lighter fuel such as kerosene, 2. heat the vegetable oil before it gets to the fuel injection system, and 3. chemically “crack” the vegetable oil molecule to make it smaller. Since the chemical process used to crack the vegetable oil is simple, reliable, and inexpensive, it became the method of choice.
European researchers perfected the chemical process to make biodiesel fuel from vegetable oil. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil, alcohol, and a catalyst through a process called transesterification. Biodiesel is easy to make, can be used in any Diesel engine, and drastically reduces tailpipe emissions. Biodiesel can be made from any vegetable oil including soy, canola, sunflower, hemp, coconut, and even used cooking oils or animal fat. Biodiesel fuel is very lubricating, which makes it better for Diesel engines than diesel fuel. The best part about biodiesel is that it requires absolutely no engine modifications. To use it, you just pour it into the fuel tank. It even mixes with regular petroleum diesel fuel.
go to www.veggievan.org
A Bit of History
When Rudolf Diesel unveiled the Diesel engine at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, he shocked reputable scientists and inventors by pouring peanut oil into his engine. It is not surprising that Rudolf Diesel designed the Diesel engine to run on vegetable oil considering that the brilliant inventor spent his childhood in the agricultural provinces of France and Germany. He grew up around farmers and knew their troubles and needs.
Throughout his career, Dr. Diesel promoted the benefits of agricultural fuel. In a speech given at a technical institute in Germany in 1911 he said, “The Diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and would help considerably in the development of agriculture and the countries which use it.” Two years later, Diesel was on a trip across the English Channel when he disappeared. A few days later, his body was found afloat in the English Channel. The English newspapers suggested that Dr. Rudolf Diesel was assassinated by foreign agents.
Reinventing Diesel’s Vision
After Diesel’s death, the idea of fueling engines with vegetable oil was quickly and quietly swept under the rug. His original designs were modified and Diesel engines were made to run on the cheapest, most abundant fuel available: petroleum.
It was not until the oil crisis of the 1970's that the idea of using vegetable oil as an engine fuel was again given serious thought. Universities in the US and Europe developed methods for using vegetable oil as a fuel for modern-day Diesel engines.
Vegetable oil is too thick to use directly in modern Diesel engine fuel injection systems. Nevertheless, researchers discovered three methods of using vegetable oil to fuel a Diesel engine: 1. mix the vegetable oil with a lighter fuel such as kerosene, 2. heat the vegetable oil before it gets to the fuel injection system, and 3. chemically “crack” the vegetable oil molecule to make it smaller. Since the chemical process used to crack the vegetable oil is simple, reliable, and inexpensive, it became the method of choice.
European researchers perfected the chemical process to make biodiesel fuel from vegetable oil. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil, alcohol, and a catalyst through a process called transesterification. Biodiesel is easy to make, can be used in any Diesel engine, and drastically reduces tailpipe emissions. Biodiesel can be made from any vegetable oil including soy, canola, sunflower, hemp, coconut, and even used cooking oils or animal fat. Biodiesel fuel is very lubricating, which makes it better for Diesel engines than diesel fuel. The best part about biodiesel is that it requires absolutely no engine modifications. To use it, you just pour it into the fuel tank. It even mixes with regular petroleum diesel fuel.
go to www.veggievan.org
