Mr. Diesel and the original biofuels

Mr. Diesel and the original biofuels.

By Abdel Aziz Dimapunong (Abdel Azish Dimapunung)

Biodix biodiesel consultant

There cannot be a complete discussion on biofuels and biodiesel without mention of Mr. Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of diesel engine and a biodiesel user and visionary.

And when we speak of blending one form of engine fuel like gasoline with another kind like ethanol, or fossil diesel with biodiesel, we have to learn from another inventor and pioneer of blending fuels, Mr. Fairbanks and his associate Mr. Morse.

Speaking of further development of the diesel engine, we can not overlook Ford, Cummins and Benz.

Looking back at these pioneering scientists and their remarkable inventions in our search for alternative renewable energy, we realize that we are actually going back to the 19^th century. We are not moving forward. History is just repeating itself after more than a century.

Mr. Rudolph Diesel (1858-1913)

The development of the diesel engine by Mr. Rudolph Diesel runs parallel with the use of biofuels. The diesel engine actually began using biofuels until it was replaced by fossil fuels. Now, therefore, we should not find it hard to get back to biodiesel as used by the inventor himself. As we look back to history, we find that it was global politics that relegated biofuels to the background. The story of Diesel and his diesel engine is the technical aspect of the history of biofuels.

Mr. Rudolph Diesel was born to the era of the steam engine. As a scientist, Rudolph Diesel developed a theory that revolutionized the engines of his day. Diesel invented the diesel engine that was named after him. This has been the perfect internal combustion engine in the sense that the fuel burns inside the chamber by air which is compressed to such a degree that there is an extreme rise in temperature. It does not need a lighter such as the spark plug. When fuel is injected into the piston at top dead center with the highly compressed air, the fuel is ignited by the air itself, firing the piston like a canon. Diesel designed his engine in response to the heavy resource consumption and inefficiency of the steam engine of his time. The steam engine was rated at only 12% efficiency.

On February 27, 1892, Diesel filed for a patent at the Imperial Patent Office in Germany. His application was granted for a Working Method and Design for Combustion Engine. With contracts from machine manufacturers, Diesel began building working models of his engine. In 1893, the first model ran under its own power and it was rated with 26% efficiency. This was remarkable because the rating was more than double the efficiency of the steam engines that were in use. Finally, in February of 1897, he ran the first diesel engine suitable for practical use, which operated at 75% efficiency.

In 1898, Rudolph Diesel demonstrated his engine at the Exhibition Fair in Paris. This engine stood as an example of Diesel’s vision because it was fueled by peanut oil – the original pure vegetable oil (PVO) which we now call biodiesel. He thought that the utilization of PVO was the real future of his engine. That is why when we start to use PVO again, we are actually following the visions of Mr. Diesel. He hoped that it would provide a way for the smaller industries and the farmers a means of competing with the monopolizing industries. Just like what we strive for today, Mr. Diesel look at his diesel invention as an alternative for the then existing fuel consumption. Our version of today’s alternative is to replace an existing fossil fuel with a renewable pure vegetable oil (PVO).

As a result of Diesel’s vision, compression ignited engines were powered by vegetable oil until the 1920’s. Today, as we try to get back to biodiesel, we are actually driving ourselves back to that era of discovery. We now wish to power our engines with biodiesel again. I should think we should call it rediscovery.

The early diesel engines were so heavy for many technical reasons. First, the cylinder of a diesel engine was naturally longer because piston displacement requires it in order to have more compression. Second, the diesel engine was heavy because of the size of the fuel injection pump. They were not really suitable for motor vehicles. Their market was for stationary use such as power for industrial and shipping in the early 1900’s. Ships and submarines benefited greatly from the efficiency of this new engine, which was slowly beginning to gain popularity.

Rudolph Diesel disappeared in 1913. There were controversies and some questions about his death. Some think it might have been accidental or even a suicide. That’s what I believed in. However, others considered a possible political motivation. Whether by accident, suicide or murder, the world had lost a brilliant scientist and biofuel visionary.

Thaddeus Fairbanks

The idea of blending gasoline with a certain percentage of another kind of fuel such as ethanol had actually been considered by the Thaddeus Fairbanks. Yet it now appears to be an innovation, some kind of a new technology.

Fairbanks, Morse & Company had its beginning in 1823 when inventor Thaddeus Fairbanks began his business in ironworks. Fairbanks was the leading manufacturer in the United States during his time. He was the best known in the whole world until he was overshadowed by the rise to popularity of Henry Ford.

Fairbanks and Morse began producing oil engines in the 1890s. We can say that Fairbanks was a contemporary of Mr. Diesel. While Diesel was working on diesel engines, Fairbanks was also working on kerosene engines. The Fairbanks and Morse gas engine was widely accepted by farmers. It was used mainly for irrigation and electricity generation. It was also used for oilfield work.

In summary, Fairbanks and Morse power plants evolved by burning kerosene in 1893, then to semi-diesel engines in 1913 and to full diesel engines in 1924.

Fairbanks and Morse Model Z engine

(Blending gasoline with kerosene)

In 1916 the company began production of the Model Z single cylinder engine in one, three and six horsepower sizes.

From 1916 to 1946, Fairbanks and Morse produced over half a million units of Model Z. That was a period of 30 years. In our estimate, about fifty thousand of these units found their way to the Philippine Islands. Most of the units were probably brought into the country by the United States army during World War II. More than a dozen of these units found their way in 1960 to our shed in Lanao Del Norte, Mindanao. My father collected them as a matter of hobby. We excavated most of them from where they were abandoned. Some of them were bought by my father “por kilo” a way of buying steel based on its weight. As I will explain later, this is the first engine that uses a blend of fuels.

After the expiration of Rudolph Diesel’s of license in America in 1912, Fairbanks entered the large engine business. As noted earlier, Mr. Diesel died in 1913. Fairbanks and Morse took over the development of the diesel engine. The company’s larger Model Y semi-diesel became a standard engine of its time. The model Y was available in sizes from one through six cylinders.

The Y-VA Fairbanks engine was the first high compression using full diesel. This machine was developed in Beloit and introduced in 1924.

Fairbanks and Morse continued to build diesel and gas engines. Export offices were established in Rio de Janero and Buenos Aires. The model Z engines were built into the 1970s in Mexico. An Australian branch factory, similar to the Canadian Branch operation, was also opened. Many Fairbanks engines dutifully served into the late twentieth century,

Henry Ford into diesel

As noted earlier, Fairbanks was the best known in the whole world until the rise of Henry Ford in the car industry. But this popularity had to do with the idea of the assembly line of production. And it had to do with the popularly known Ford Model T. Early American Ford automobiles were not diesel driven, but they were powered by ethanol. Yes, this is the ethanol that we are now considering for rediscovery. This is the ethanol that is provided for in the Philippines Biofuel of 2000.

Henry Ford shared a similar vision with Rudolph Diesel. He believed that pure vegetable oil should the fuel of the transportation industry. In a partnership with Standard Oil, he helped developed the biofuel industry. But ethanol disappeared from the scene as a result of the development of the petroleum industry.

Cummins, a diesel engine mechanic inventor

It was Clessie L Cummins, a mechanic-inventor who actually worked on the design problems of the diesel engine. The problems of diesel engine at that time had to do with the size and weight. There was also the issue on the instability created by its fuel system. In 1919, Cummins developed a single disk system that measured the fuel injected. Like the other early engines, Cummins’ products were stationary engines and his main market was the marine industry.

It was also during the 1920’s that diesel engine manufacturers created a major challenge for the biofuel industry. Diesel engines were altered to utilize the lower viscosity of the fossil fuel residue rather than a biomass based fuel. The petroleum industries were growing and establishing themselves during this period. Their business tactics and the wealth that many of these oil tycoons already possessed greatly influenced the development of all engines and machinery.

It was in the 1920s that the alteration to the original engines was first introduced as a step in the elimination of the production structure for purely vegetable oils. It was also a step in forcing the concept of biomass as a potential fuel base into obscurity, erasing the possibilities from the public awareness.

In 1929, the Stock Market crashed. This brought the threat of bankruptcy to Cummins. In an innovative move, however, he installed a diesel engine in a limousine and took his backer, Irwin, for a ride, assuring further investment. Cummins continued to experiment with the diesel motor vehicles.

In 1931, Cummins set a speed record and distance record by driving a truck with a Cummins diesel engine coast to coast in the United States. With this distance, Cummins established an endurance record of 13,535 miles at Indianapolis Speedway. Cummins’ diesel engines were then established and trucks as well as other fleets began using them. Over the years, Cummins has continued to improve the efficiency of the diesel engine, providing technological innovations. Their engines have set a high standard for the industry.

The Mercedes Benz diesel engines.

The 1920’s brought a new injection pump design, allowing the metering of fuel as it entered the engine without the need of pressurized air and its accompanying tank. The engine was now small enough to be mobile and utilized in vehicles. In 1936, Mercedes Benz built the first automobile with a diesel engine. These were dependable, enduring automobiles that lasted well into the second half of the 20^th century.

The oil crisis

The 1970’s arrived and the riding public, who were firmly dependent on foreign oil, yet, unaware of the depth of their dependence, were suddenly faced with a crisis.

In 1973, OPEC, the Middle Eastern organization controlling the majority of the world’s oil, reduced the supply of oil and raised the price, sending the United States and other countries into a crisis. Long lines at pump stations started to appear. I was among them. I remember the gas ration system. This crisis was recreated in 1978. Long lines became more longer at the gas pumps. People panicked as they realized that they depended on the consistent supply of oil – foreign oil. Conservation and alternatives became important.

Because of the oil crisis, the riding public looked to diesel fuel which was more efficient and economical and they began buying diesel-powered automobiles. These automobiles include the Mercedes Benz, Isuzu Volkswagen, plus a good portion of Audi, Volvo and Datsun during the 1970’s. For the first time, American manufacturers began producing automobiles with diesel engines. General Motors made and sold diesel automobiles in the late 1970’s, accounting for 60% of all diesel sales in the United States. This surge of diesel only started to decline in the 1980’s when the price of oil had been re-stabilized. Along with this, the automobiles produced by General Motors were basically converted gasoline engines.

No war for oil

As we entered the 21st Century, we had become conscious of and focus on our environment, clean air, the greenhouse effect, and pollution. It has become fashionable to speak of alternative energy, renewable energy, bioethanol, biodiesel, and many kinds of biofuels. Laws were passed in many countries. Nations discussed oil supply and the reduction of dependence on fossil fuel.

Then came the Iraq War. On March 20, 2003, the United States and it allies invaded Iraq. There was debate on the reason why was erupted. Was it because of the so-called Weapons of Mass Destruction? Was it because of oil? Looking forward to the future, our dependency on foreign oil and its rising prices as well as probable instability due to conflicts that could lead to more wars will drive us to explore alternatives with more open minds.