Today (10) is celebrated the International Biodiesel Day. The date is a tribute to this energy source. On this date, in 1893, in Augsburg, Germany, the German Rudolf Diesel managed to move by a few meters an iron cylinder with a steering wheel base. Fuel oil, unlike the current extensive use of mineral fuel, diesel oil, has been extracted from peanuts.

The phrase "the use of vegetable oils, such as motor fuels, may seem insignificant these days. But these oils can become, over time, as important as oil and coal," is attributed to Rudolf Diesel, a Franco-German mechanical engineer who invented the diesel engine.

The creation of the date occurred as a way to "raise awareness of the importance of non-fossil fuels". The replacement of fossil diesel with Brazilian biodiesel, produced mainly from soybeans, can reduce emissions of GEEs (greenhouse gases) by up to 72%, according to a study by the University of São Paulo published in 2017.

Currently, biodiesel originated from plants is the fourth largest source of renewable energy used in the world, according to the most recent survey by the EIA (Energy Information Administration), a government agency in the United States. But the biodiesel market still has room to grow, as it represents only 0.4% of all available energy matrices in the world.

To understand more about the topic on this date, learn below how biodiesel is produced and learn more about its history:

How biodiesel is produced

Like other fuels, biodiesel is obtained from a chemical process. In this case, transesterification is carried out, a process that places oils and fats of animal or vegetable origin to react with alcohols, methanol or ethanol. The reaction results in the creation of two products: the ester and glycerin.

The ester then goes through purification processes and becomes biodiesel, as we know in the pumps of the fuel stations. The level of purification varies according to the legislation of each country. In Brazil, the biodiesel producer is obliged to add antioxidant additive in biodiesel production, regardless of the raw material used in its manufacture. The measure became mandatory from 2019 and slows the degradation and oxidation of Brazilian biodiesel.

Glycerin obtained as a co-product in biodiesel production is marketed to the food, pharmaceutical, textile, cosmetic and other sectors. But it can also be transformed into an additive for biodiesel or burned in ovens and boilers for calorific processes carried out in the purification of the ster in biodiesel, making the use of co-products of it is close to 100%.

Fuel raw materials

Biodiesel can be created from different oils and materials of animal or vegetable origin. In Brazil, the main raw materials used in biofuel production are:

• Soybean
• Corn
• Sunflower
• Peanut
• Cotton
• Canola
• Castor bean
• Babassu
• Palm (palm oil)
• Macaúba
• Animal fats

The creation of biodiesel

On August 10, 1893, when Rudolf Diesel first set up his creation, the peanut oil-powered combustion engine was rudimentary. To accomplish the feat, Diesel tested different vegetable oils until reaching the extraction of peanut oil. The inventor then performed the transesterification and arrived at the product that is now known as biodiesel.

The engine and its fuel were patented in February 1897 and officially presented in 1898 during the World's Fair in Paris, France. In the following years, the technology began to be adapted beyond cars, and in the 1920s it was already used to move ships, locomotives and trucks.

Main fuel producers

In 2021, the world produced about 151 million cubic meters of biodiesel. Brazil, which stands out as one of the five largest biodiesel producers in the world, accounted for about 1/4 of this production. It is at the forefront is at the forefront of the movement of replacing mineral oil, oil, by vegetable oil.

According to the most recent research by IICA (Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture), published last year between 2011 and 2020, the world's leading fuel producers were:

• United States (41%)
• Brazil (26%)
• Indonesia (5%)
• China (3%)
• Germany (3%)

Source: Forbes