Diesel Fuel Facts

Actually, there is no one fuel that is called 'diesel'. Diesel may refer to any chemical compound that may be used to fuel a diesel engine. While the most common form of diesel is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum, there are other forms of diesel in use today, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid diesel (BTL) and gas to liquid diesel (GTL). To avoid confusion, we now call the common form of diesel - the petroleum distillate one - as petrodiesel. Let us have a look at some important diesel fuel facts below.

Facts About Diesel Fuel

1. The first diesel oil was actually invented by trial-and-error method by Rudolf Diesel while trying to find a fuel to run the engine invented by him. So diesel oil is not named after Rudolf Diesel, it is named after the engine that it fuels!
2. The trial and error went to some extremes where Rudolf Diesel also tried some unbelievable oils, including peanut oil!
3. Petrodiesel is crude fuel, fractionally distilled at temperatures between 200° C and 350° C, and contains anywhere between 8 to 21 atoms of carbon per molecule.
4. Being a crude form of oil, it produces more pollution than gasoline. To reduce the effect of sulfur emissions, the European emissions standards forced production of a new diesel with substantially lowered sulfur levels, known as Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD).
5. These days diesel is priced higher than gasoline as the changeover to ULSD from standard petrodiesel is being implemented.
6. A diesel engine works quite differently from a gasoline engine as it does not have a spark plug for engine ignition. The cylinders are preheated and the injected diesel reacts with oxygen and burns. The heat produces mechanical motion of moving the pistons. Usually diesel engines are considered to be more fuel efficient than gas engines.
7. The chemical make up for petrodiesel is 75% saturated hydrocarbons (paraffins and cycloparaffins) and 25% aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalenes and alkylbenzenes). The other additives may vary based on the diesel company's innovation, the country's emission norms, etc. The chemical formula for petrodiesel could be anywhere between C₁₀H₂₀ to C₁₅H₂₈, depending upon the amount of distillation.
8. Highway diesel spills are a nightmare for vehicles, especially motorbikes. Diesel when mixed with water, unlike gas, does not evaporate, but stays spilled and becomes a slippery concoction and an accident waiting to happen. Diesel spills need to be cleared as soon as possible.
9. While Rudolf Diesel experimented, unsuccessfully, with peanut oil, scientists today are going back to his idea and trying to create biodiesel, a form of diesel derived from animal fat and vegetable oils. It is a non-fossil fuel and is expected to reduce emissions and environmental problems in the future.

Advantages of Using Diesel

• Diesel powered engines give better mileage to a horsepower as compared to their gas-powered counterparts.
• A diesel engine is built for not-so-nice, heavy duty vehicles such as lorries and bigger cars. In other words, diesel can give a lot more torque to the vehicle than gas.
• A diesel engine is more durable.
• Biodiesel can be used in almost any diesel engine as a environmentally safer option to diesel. You don't need special engines for using biodiesel.

Disadvantages of Using Diesel

• A diesel engine still pollutes a lot more than gasoline engines. It emits more smog and carbon particles.
• A diesel engine is a high maintenance commodity as the engine oil and fuel filter need to be changed quite often, as, unlike gas engines, these two are very crucial to the working of the diesel engine. Also, the valve adjustment needs to be done quite often to keep the diesel engine in good shape.
• A diesel engine costs much more than its gas counterpart.
• As a diesel powered engine does not have a spark plug for ignition, and the diesel itself has to start-up the engine, it takes a much longer time to start and get warmed up. In cold weather, it takes even more time to start as diesel turns into non-flowing gel that takes time to flow to the engine.

These are some diesel fuel facts, along with its benefits and problems. Now you can take an educated decision regarding whether to purchase a diesel powered vehicle or not!