Diesel fuel

"Gas oil" redirects here. For gas oil as other classes of fuel oil, see Fuel oil.
"Diesel oil" redirects here. Not to be confused with lubricating oil for diesel engines.
A tank of diesel fuel on a truck

Diesel fuel, also called diesel oil, heavy oil (historically) or simply diesel, is a liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and then injection of fuel. Therefore, diesel fuel needs good compression ignition characteristics.

The most common type of diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid (BTL) or gas to liquid (GTL) diesel are increasingly being developed and adopted. To distinguish these types, petroleum-derived diesel is sometimes called petrodiesel in some academic circles.[1] Diesel is a high-volume product of oil refineries.[2]

In many countries, diesel fuel is standardized. For example, in the European Union, the standard for diesel fuel is EN 590. Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) is a diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur contents. As of 2016, almost all of the petroleum-based diesel fuel available in the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, and North America is of a ULSD type. Before diesel fuel had been standardized, the majority of diesel engines typically ran on cheap fuel oils. These fuel oils are still used in watercraft diesel engines. Despite being specifically designed for diesel engines, diesel fuel can also be used as fuel for several non-diesel engines, for example the Akroyd engine, the Stirling engine, or boilers for steam engines. Diesel is often used in heavy trucks. However, diesel exhaust, especially from older engines, can cause health damage.[3][4]

  1. ^ Knothe, Gerhard; Sharp, Christopher A.; Ryan, Thomas W. (2006). "Exhaust Emissions of Biodiesel, Petrodiesel, Neat Methyl Esters, and Alkanes in a New Technology Engine†". Energy & Fuels. 20: 403–408. doi:10.1021/ef0502711. S2CID 53386870.
  2. ^ Gary, James H.; Handwerk, Glenn E. (2001). Petroleum refining: technology and economics (4. ed.). New York Basel: Dekker. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-8247-0482-7.
  3. ^ US EPA, OAR (2015-07-24). "Learn About Impacts of Diesel Exhaust and the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA)". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  4. ^ "California approves rule phasing out big diesel trucks". ABC7 Los Angeles. 2023-04-29. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-04-29.