Obtaining fuel from a fat is not by any means a new process. In 1853, a couple of scientists named J. Patrick and E. Duffy performed the first experimental vegetable oil transesterification, many years prior to a diesel engine actually becoming fully functional. Records indicate however, that the first vehicle to run on biodiesel fuel was a 10 feet single iron cylinder designed by Rudolf Diesel on August 10^th 1893 in Augsburg, Germany. Seven years later in 1900, in Paris, France, his engine was demonstrated using a biofuel made from peanut oil. In a speech in 1912, Diesel stated that he believed a biomass fuel was the way of the future. He went on to say that over the course of time, vegetable oil based fuels would become as important as petroleum diesel and coal products. During the 1920’s however, manufacturers of diesel engines changed their engines enabling a lower viscosity of fossil fuels, known as petrodiesel, preferring to use these rather than Biodiesel Fuels, despite the fact that they knew a high price would be paid in the coming years due to pollution.

Over the coming years, due to pricing, availability of supplies, and among other things, efficiency, petroleum diesel remained in the picture and was proven to be the most logical and readily available fuel source, even though biodiesel fuels based on vegetable oils was still used throughout the 1930’s and 40’s. In South Africa, heavy duty vehicles were powered by vegetable oil before the onset of World War II.

In the United States during the 1970’s and 1980’s the idea of using biofuels was once again revisited. With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passing the Clean Air Act in 1970, it became one of the most important turning events for Biodiesel Fuels. The EPA looked more closely at regulating emissions for nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, ozone and carbon monoxide. The stage was set for cleaner fuels and fuel additive standards.

Overseas events like the Arab oil embargo during 1973-1974 and the Iranian Revolution during 1978-1979, along with a domestic oil production decrease, made prices rocket. Crude oil imports were reduced by 30% throughout the embargo and the price of a barrel escalated from $14 in 1979 to $35 at the start of 1981. It was 1983 before prices dropped back to between $28 and $29 a barrel. With the price of petroleum diesel fuels increasing, researchers looked for answers elsewhere. In Fargo, N.D. in August 1982 the very first International Conference was held concerning plant and vegetable oils. Matters discussed were cost and effects of using biodiesel fuels and the effects of the extraction methods for fuel additives and vegetable oil.

The Clean Air Act was amended in 1990 to include vehicle emission restrictions. And in 1992 EPACT, or Energy Policy Act was passed. This helped to increase the alternative fuel amount used in Government transportation and helped to reduce foreign oil dependency. In 1998 there was another amendment stating that the use of biodiesel fuels in existing diesel run vehicles was acceptable.