Home
Archaeology
Astronomy
Biology
Books
Business
Chemistry
Coins
Computers
Conservation
Cooking
Earth Science
Farming
Economics
Finance
Games
Geography
Health Science
History by Date
Hobbies
Law
Mathematics
Medicine
Military Technology
Movies
Music
People
Pharmacology
Philosophy
Physics
Psychology
Religion
Science History
Technology
Sports
Television
Video
Visual Art
Privacy
Contact Us



Diesel

This article is about the fuel. For other uses see diesel (disambiguation).


Diesel is a product used as a fuel.

Table of contents
1 Petrodiesel
2 Biodiesel
3 Uses

Petrodiesel

One can obtain diesel from petroleum, which is called petrodiesel. As a hydrocarbon mixture, it is obtained in the fractional distillation of crude oil between 250°C and 350°C at atmospheric pressure.

Biodiesel

One can obtain Biodiesel from vegetable oil and animal fats (bio-lipids, using transesterification. Biodiesel is a non-fossil fuel alternative to petrodiesel.

Uses

Diesel is identical with heating oil, used in central heating. In both Europe and the United States taxes on diesel fuel are higher than on heating oil, and in those areas, heating oil is marked with dye and trace chemicals to prevent and detect tax fraud.

Diesel is used in diesel engines (cars, boats, motorbikes...), a type of internal combustion engine. Rudolf Diesel originally designed the diesel engine to use coal dust as a fuel, but oil proved more effective.

The first diesel-engine automobile trip was completed on January 6, 1930. The trip was from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City - a distance of nearly 800 miles. This feat helped to prove the usefulness of the engine.


Copyright 2004. All rights reserved.