National Biodiesel Day Date in the current year: March 18, 2024

In the late 19th century, German mechanical engineer Rudolf Diesel invented an internal combustion engine in which the fuel is ignited without a spark as a result of mechanical compression of the air in the cylinder that causes the temperature to rise. It was named the diesel engine after its inventor. One of the main benefits of the diesel engine is that it can run on a huge variety of fuels. Although petroleum-based diesel fuel is the most common type of fuel used in diesel engines, it has many alternatives, including biodiesel.

Biodiesel consists of long-chain fatty acid esters that are derived from vegetable oils or animal fats by transesterification (a chemical reaction of lipids with an alcohol). Transesterification was first conducted in the 1850s, four decades before the invention of the diesel engine, but the development of diesel fuels derived from vegetable oils didn’t begin until the first half of the 20th century. Throughout the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, a number of countries were reported to have tried vegetable oils as an alternative to petroleum diesel fuel. However, these early biodiesels were of inferior quality compared to conventional diesel fuel.

Modern biodiesel was created by Brazilian chemical engineer Expedito Parente, who developed the first industrial process for biodiesel production in the 1970s and was granted the patent for his invention in 1983. The world’s first industrial-scale biodiesel plant opened in 1989.

Biodiesel has a number of benefits compared to conventional petrofuel. It contributes to energy security by reducing dependence on oil, helps reduce greenhouse gases and pollution, and allows countries to produce fuel from domestic and sustainable sources. Biofuel is a cost-effective and renewable fuel that, while not without its flaws, is becoming increasingly popular.

The origins of National Biodiesel Day are unclear, but the choice of the date makes sense because March 18 is the birthday of Rudolf Diesel. Although Diesel did not invent biodiesel, he was a proponent of using vegetable oils as fuel and his diesel engine made the use of biodiesel possible, so the date is quite fitting.

There are many ways to celebrate National Biodiesel Day. For example, you can learn more about the benefits of biodiesel and share the facts you’ve learned with others, read a book or watch a documentary about Rudolf Diesel or Expedito Parente, pledge to lead a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, and spread the word about the holiday on social media using the hashtags #NationalBiodieselDay and #BiodieselDay.

National Biodiesel Day should not be confused with International Biodiesel Day. The latter is celebrated on August 10 to commemorate the day in 1893 when Rudolf Diesel ran his prototype diesel engine for the first time. Even though this first engine used petrol as fuel, Diesel did consider using peanut oil.