Sylvie Willis
Diesel fuel is a liquid fuel designed for diesel engines, which are a type of internal combustion engine. The fuel was invented by Rudolf Diesel, a German scientist and inventor, for his compression-ignition engine in 1892. Diesel fuel is derived from crude oil, which is extracted from the ground through wells and offshore rigs. The crude oil is sent to refineries, where it is distilled into gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and other extracts.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Origin | German scientist and inventor Rudolf Diesel |
| Year of Origin | Around 1892 |
| Engine Prototype Fuel | Crude oil from Pechelbronn |
| Engine Fuel | Kerosene (paraffin) |
| Alternative Fuels Tested | Coal tar creosote, paraffin oil, crude oil, gasoline, fuel oil, illuminating gas, vegetable seed oil |
| Common Name | Diesel |
| Other Names | Heavy oil, distillate, DERV, white diesel, red diesel, biodiesel, petrodiesel |
| Definition | Liquid fuel for diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine |
| Diesel Engine | Compresses liquid to extreme pressure to cause ignition |
| Source | Crude oil |
| Refining | Fractional distillation |
| Composition | Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons |
| Boiling Point | 150 °C to 380 °C |
| Use | Motor vehicles, generators, boilers for steam engines, military vehicles |
| Producing Countries | United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, North America |
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What You'll Learn
Rudolf Diesel's experiments
Rudolf Diesel was a French-German engineer born in Paris, France, in 1858. His parents were Bavarian immigrants. Diesel began his career as a refrigerator engineer and worked on various heat engines, including a solar-powered air engine.
In 1892, Diesel applied for a patent and received a development patent for his diesel engine. In 1893, he published a paper describing an engine with combustion within a cylinder, the internal combustion engine. On 10 August 1893, in Augsburg, Germany, Diesel's prime model, a single 10-foot iron cylinder with a flywheel at its base, ran on its own power for the first time. He received a patent for the engine that same year and a patent for an improvement.
In his engine, fuel was injected at the end of the compression stroke and ignited due to the high temperature resulting from the compression. From 1893 to 1897, Heinrich von Buz, director of Maschinenfabrik Augsburg, provided Rudolf Diesel with the opportunity to test and develop his ideas. Diesel also received support from the Krupp firm. Diesel's design utilised compression ignition, unlike gas engines that used spark plugs. His design could be run on biodiesel or other non-petroleum-originating fuels.
Diesel's engine set off a new chapter in the Industrial Revolution. He had envisioned his invention being used by small businesses and artisans, rather than industrialists. However, diesel engines became commonplace in vehicles, especially those that had to pull heavy loads, such as trucks and trains. Within 20 years of its invention, tractors, trains, and ships were using diesel engines.
Diesel also experimented with different types of fuels for his engine. Initially, he tested crude oil from Pechelbronn but switched to petrol and kerosene as crude oil was too viscous. Kerosene, also known as paraffin, became the main testing fuel for the Diesel engine. Diesel also experimented with types of lamp oil, other types of petrol, and ligroin, all of which worked well as diesel engine fuels. He later tested coal tar creosote, paraffin oil, crude oil, gasoline, and fuel oil, which also proved to be successful.
In a book titled "Diesel Engines for Land and Marine Work," Diesel mentioned that a small Diesel engine exhibited by the Otto company ran successfully on vegetable oil, specifically arachide (peanut) oil. He repeated these experiments on a large scale and confirmed the positive results.
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Crude oil extraction
Diesel fuel is derived from crude oil, which is extracted from the ground through wells and offshore rigs. Crude oil extraction is a process that involves drilling and pumping oil from underground reservoirs. Here is a more detailed breakdown of the crude oil extraction process:
Locating Oil Reservoirs
The first step in crude oil extraction is locating potential oil reservoirs. Geologists and geophysicists use a variety of methods, including seismic surveys, gravity surveys, and magnetic surveys, to identify areas likely to contain oil deposits. These surveys help create a map of the subsurface structures, which can indicate the presence of oil-bearing rocks.
Drilling
Once a potential oil reservoir is identified, a well is drilled to access the oil-bearing rocks. Drilling rigs are used to bore holes through the earth, and the depth of the well can vary depending on the location and the depth of the reservoir. Drilling can be a complex and time-consuming process, especially when drilling through challenging geological formations.
Oil Recovery
After reaching the oil-bearing rocks, the next step is to extract the oil. This can be done through a variety of methods, including primary, secondary, and enhanced oil recovery techniques. Primary recovery relies on the natural pressure of the reservoir to push the oil towards the well, while secondary recovery methods involve injecting water or gas to increase reservoir pressure and displace more oil. Enhanced oil recovery techniques use advanced technologies, such as thermal or chemical processes, to further increase the amount of oil that can be extracted.
Oil Transportation
Once the oil is extracted, it needs to be transported to refineries for processing. This is typically done through a network of pipelines that connect the wells to the refineries. In some cases, oil may also be transported by rail, truck, or ship, especially if the distance is too great for pipelines.
Refinery Processing
At the refinery, crude oil undergoes a series of processes to transform it into usable products, including diesel fuel. The first step is typically fractional distillation, where the crude oil is heated and the various components are separated based on their boiling points. Diesel fuel has a distillation range of approximately 163-357 °C. The distilled diesel fuel may undergo further processing to remove impurities and ensure it meets the required specifications.
Distribution
Finally, the refined diesel fuel is distributed to consumers. It is transported from the refineries to terminals, often through pipelines, and then loaded onto trucks or trains for delivery to retail service stations and large-volume consumers. This distribution network ensures that diesel fuel is readily available for vehicles, generators, and other machinery that relies on this energy source.
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Standardisation
Diesel fuel is derived from crude oil, which is extracted from the ground through wells and offshore rigs. The crude oil is sent to refineries, where it is turned into gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and other extracts. This process is known as distillation, where the oil is heated and the vapours are captured in another tank to condense into a new liquid.
The first oil refinery was built in 1851 in Scotland and was used primarily to extract paraffin for oil lamps. Kerosene was a common by-product that replaced paraffin, and diesel was also a by-product, although it was frequently discarded as there was no use for it at the time. Diesel fuel gets its name from Rudolf Diesel, a German scientist and inventor who created the first engine that could use this fuel around 1892. Diesel fuel is the common term for the distillate fuel oil sold for use in motor vehicles that use the compression ignition engine.
Before diesel fuel was standardised, diesel engines typically ran on cheap fuel oils. In the United States, these were distilled from petroleum, whereas in Europe, coal-tar creosote oil was used. Diesel fuel has many colloquial names; most commonly, it is simply referred to as diesel. In the United Kingdom, diesel fuel for road use is commonly called diesel or sometimes white diesel if required to differentiate it from a reduced-tax agricultural-only product containing an identifying coloured dye known as red diesel. The official term for white diesel is DERV, or diesel-engine road vehicle. In Australia, diesel fuel is also known as distillate, and in Indonesia and Israel, it is known as solar.
In many countries, diesel fuel is standardised. For example, in the European Union, the standard for diesel fuel is EN 590. Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) is a diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur content. As of 2016, almost all of the petroleum-based diesel fuel available in the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, and North America is of the ULSD type. The majority of diesel fuel consumed in the United States is also ULSD, with a sulfur content of 15 parts per million or less. Biomass-based diesel fuels (biodiesel and renewable diesel) also contribute to the supply of diesel fuel in the United States.
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Petroleum refineries
The first oil refinery was built in 1851 in Scotland and was used primarily to extract paraffin for oil lamps. Kerosene was a common by-product that replaced paraffin. Diesel was also a common by-product but was frequently discarded because there was no use for it at the time. The first oil well in North America was drilled in 1858 in Oil Springs, Ontario, Canada. In the United States, the petroleum industry began in 1859 when Edwin Drake found oil near Titusville, Pennsylvania. The first oil refinery in the US was established in Pittsburgh in 1853.
The process of refining crude oil involves breaking it down into its various components, which are then selectively reconfigured into new products. Modern separation involves piping crude oil through hot furnaces, and the resulting liquids and vapors are discharged into distillation units. All refineries have atmospheric distillation units, but more complex refineries may have vacuum distillation units. Inside the distillation units, the liquids and vapors separate into petroleum components, called fractions, according to their boiling points. Heavy fractions are on the bottom, while light fractions are on the top. The most widely used conversion method is called cracking because it uses heat, pressure, catalysts, and sometimes hydrogen to break heavy hydrocarbon molecules into lighter ones.
The finishing touches occur during the final treatment. To make gasoline, refinery technicians carefully combine a variety of streams from the processing units. Octane level, vapor pressure ratings, and other factors determine the gasoline blend. Both incoming crude oil and outgoing final products are stored temporarily in large tanks on a tank farm near the refinery. Pipelines, trains, and trucks then carry the final products from the storage tanks to locations across the country.
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Diesel engines
Diesel fuel is a liquid fuel designed for use in diesel engines, a type of internal combustion engine. Diesel engines are notable because they ignite without a spark, as a result of the compression of inlet air and the injection of fuel. This was a significant development as it meant the fuel did not need to be lit externally.
Rudolf Diesel, a German scientist and inventor, designed the first diesel engine around 1892. Diesel's original engine was designed as a replacement for steam-powered and gas-powered engines, which were inefficient by comparison. Diesel engines compress the liquid to extreme pressures, causing it to ignite. This ignition moves the piston and activates the motor.
Diesel fuel is derived from crude oil, which is extracted from the ground through wells and offshore rigs. The crude oil is sent to refineries, where it is turned into gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and other extracts. Diesel fuel is a distillate of petroleum fuel oil, though alternative types of diesel fuel that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, are also being developed and adopted. The distillation process involves heating oil and capturing the vapors in another tank to condense into a new liquid. Diesel fuel typically consists of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons with a boiling point range of approximately 150–380 °C.
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Frequently asked questions
Diesel fuel is a liquid fuel designed for use in a diesel engine, which was invented by Rudolf Diesel around 1892. Diesel fuel is derived from crude oil, which is extracted from the ground through wells and offshore rigs.
Diesel fuel is made from crude oil through fractional distillation. It consists of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons with a boiling point range of 150 °C to 380 °C.
Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine, which used compression to ignite the fuel instead of an external ignition source, such as a spark. Diesel fuel was originally a byproduct of the oil refining process and was discarded until Diesel invented his engine.
