National Biodiesel Day honors America’s Advanced Biofuel

JEFFERSON CITY— When Rudolph diesel first developed the diesel engine he had diversity in mind. What he may not have known was just how far the diesel engine would go. 

The first compression ignition engine that Rudolph Diesel displayed at the 1900 World's Fair ran on peanut oil and he designed it with a variety of fuels in mind. In a 1912 speech Diesel said, “the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.” 

“The biodiesel industry has grown to be as diverse as the diesel engine itself,” said Don Scott, Director of Sustainability for the National Biodiesel Board. “From the raw materials used to make it, to the engines it is burned in, biodiesel is one of the most diverse alternative fuels on the planet.” 

Biodiesel is a cleaner burning, advanced biofuel made from readily available renewable resources such as soybean oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, animal fat and even used cooking oil. 
The engines biodiesel is used in include semi-trucks, tractors, heavy construction equipment, boats, school buses, city transit buses, military equipment, diesel pickup trucks, passenger vehicles, home heating burners, electrical generators and almost every other diesel engine in the marketplace. 

National Biodiesel Day takes place on Friday, March 18, the date of Rudolf Diesel’s birthday. The biodiesel industry chose his birthday to honor him for his foresight in recognizing the valuable role of oil-based fuel from renewable resources.