Rudolf Diesel Designed His Engine to Run on Peanut Oil
Diesel is a fuel and an engine type. Its inventor demonstrated it running on vegetable oil in 1900.
Diesel names both a compression-ignition engine and the fuel it burns. Rudolf Diesel intended it to run on a range of fuels: at the 1900 Paris Exposition he demonstrated an engine running on peanut oil, and he argued that vegetable oils could give farmers independence from petroleum. Petroleum diesel won on cost, not on design.
- A compression-ignition engine. *A diesel engine.*
- The fuel. *A tank of diesel.*
- A diesel vehicle. *She drives a diesel.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | diesel | Cheap diesel. |
| Adjective | diesel | A diesel locomotive. |
| Related | biodiesel | Blended biodiesel. |
| Related | petrol | Unleaded petrol. |
| Person | Rudolf Diesel | Named after Rudolf Diesel. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Diesel engines compress air until it is hot enough to ignite fuel.No spark plug is needed.
- Diesel is more efficient than petrol.Thermally, for the same journey.
- Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils or fats.Closer to the inventor's intention.
Diesel and petrol engines
- Ignition — diesel by compression, petrol by spark
- Compression ratio — much higher in a diesel
- Efficiency — diesel converts more fuel energy to motion
- Torque — diesels typically produce more at low speed
- Emissions — diesels produce more nitrogen oxides and particulates
Named after Rudolf Diesel, the German engineer who patented the engine in 1892. He disappeared from a cross-Channel ferry in 1913.
Why does a diesel not need a spark plug?
Compressing air raises its temperature enough to ignite the fuel when it is injected. Glow plugs assist only when starting cold.
Did Diesel intend vegetable oil?
He demonstrated it publicly and argued for it. Petroleum diesel became standard because it was cheaper.