Diesel fuel powers many vehicles around the world. Here’s what it takes to make it, from getting oil out of the ground to refining it properly.
A lot of diesel vehicle drivers might take certain things about their fuel for granted. We might gripe when its price increases and reminisce about just how cheap it used to be a relatively short time ago, but there’s something even more important to consider: How it came to be powering our efficient diesel engines in the first place.
Yes, you’ll probably know that fossil fuels are an essential basis of gas and diesel, and you might have seen a silly dinosaur-powered bumper sticker or two to that effect over the years. There are two important things to remember, though: Firstly, fossil fuels are mostly derived from the intense underground pressure on the remains of decomposed prehistoric plants, algae, and plankton, after hundreds of millions of years. Britannica even spoils the fun by noting, « at least most of the time, you are not pouring refined dinosaur parts into the gas tank of your vehicle. »
Tongue in cheek as the reference might be, it raises the vital point of refinement. What remains of the miniscule plankton that oh-so-gradually formed crude oil requires significant work before it makes its way to the pump, and the process of making diesel fuel differs quite significantly from that of making gasoline. In the case of the former, the process is called fractional distillation, and it’s an invaluable way of making crude oil into a far more efficient source of fuel. Efficiency isn’t the only concern, of course, as another crucial element of making diesel is keeping the process in line with today’s increasingly stringent environment concerns and rules.
