Biodiesel, technically described as mono-alkyi esters of vegetable oil or animal fat, is to many a new concept in man's quest to rely less on petroleum-based products in daily life. The first biodiesel, however, was produced in the lab decades ago and is still cited as an important technological advance in the area of alternative fuel sources.
The name biodiesel originates from the word diesel, a type of engine invented by Rudolph Diesel in 1892. Diesel first displayed his invention in 1900, at the Paris World's Fair. Rather unexpectedly, his diesel engine actually ran on peanut oil.
However, it was in 1937 that a Belgian scientist at the University of Brussels, G. Chavanne, was granted a patent entitled "Procedure for the transformation of vegetable oils for their uses as fuels." In the patent, Chavanne describes the use of palm oil as diesel fuel. The reaction was called alcoholysis (also known as transesterification), and involved mixing the vegetable oil with ethanol to produce glycerol and a vegetable oil ester, or biodiesel. Scientists still consider this to be the first account of the production of biodiesel.
A related report in 1942 by Chavanne described the use of palm oil ethyl esters as a fuel source, specifically used as a test fuel for a bus that ran between Brussels and Louvain during the summer of 1938. The article focused on the chemical and physical properties of the fuel, and reported "satisfactory" results on this use of palm oil.
This groundbreaking work, while at the time not focused on environmental or emissions implications, seems more important now than ever in the quest for renewable, clean and efficient fuel sources. Indeed, biodiesel is increasingly seen as a way to reduce dependence on traditional oil-based fuels.
