Biodiesel has become a buzzword among advocates of petroleum fuel alternatives
- but did you know the original "biofuel" was peanut oil?
German engineer Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913) built his first diesel engine in
1892.
He experimented at first with a number of fuel sources including coal dust
suspended in water however by the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, Dr Diesel had
his engine running on 100 per cent peanut oil!
Dr Diesel was a strong advocate for using vegetable oils to power his compression
ignition motor.
In 1911 he stated: "The diesel engine can be fed with vegetable oils and
would help considerably in the development of agriculture of the countries
which use it."
In 1912, he said: "The use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem
insignificant today. But such oils may become in course of time as important
as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time."
