Wednesday, March 17, 2010

National Biodiesel Day


To many, March 18th means the celebration of Saint Patrick's Day, But, today is also Rudolph Diesel's birthday.


Over 100 years ago Rudolf Diesel discovered an innovation that was cutting edge. Today, no other engine inventor's name is so intently tied to his engine.


His pursuit to find more efficient ways to use steam as the working fluid in heat engines led to patents in 1892 & 1893 for the cycle of an engine using the compression-ignition method. Diesel then tackled the obstacle of the compression-ignition engine as a refinement of the petrol engine invented by Niklaus Otto in 1876. Although he experienced several obstacles with manufacturing, licensing, and financial stability, he spent the rest of his life introducing his invention to the world.


The diesel engine was originally made to run on peanut oil, and only later did petroleum become the standard fuel. Diesel said, "the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time."


Diesel eventually revised his first model and in 1894 his new engine ran for more than a minute. This engine had a mechanical efficiency over 75%, surpassing the steam engines of that time which where running at less than 10%.


In 1898 Diesel made himself a millionaire by selling the rights to his engine to a Missouri beer manufacturer named Adolphus Busch. His determination and sales were so monumental that they were used in almost all US submarines during WWI.


On September 29, 1913, Diesel disappeared from the Harwich-Antwerp ferry as is crossed the Channel and was never found. Since his death the diesel engine has become and integral component in transportation and manufacturing.