Foundations of Biofuels to Their Future

Rudolf Diesel Discovers the First Biofuel Engine

Jun 1, 1897

The first modern usage of biofuels can be linked back to Rudolf Diesel in 1897 when he successfully created the first diesel engine to run on peanut oil.

Henry Ford Invented the Model T Engine

Jun 1, 1908

The Model T Ford was the first flexible-fuel automobile of its kind, since it ran on petroleum, ethanol, or acombination of both.

Clean Air Act

Jun 1, 1970

This allowed the EPA to more closely regulate emissions standards for pollutants like sulfur dioxides, carbon monoxide, ozone and nitrogen oxides (NOx).

First International Conference on Plant and Vegetable Oils

Aug 1, 1982

This conference dealt with matters ranging from fuel cost and the effects of vegetable oil to fuel additives and extraction methods.

Energy Policy Act

Oct 24, 1992

The Energy Policy Act (EPA) aimed at increasing the amount of alternative fuel used by the U.S. government transportation fleets in order to reduce dependency on foreign oil.

EPACT

Jun 1, 1998

The 1998 EPACT amendment included using biodiesel fuel in existing government diesel vehicles as an acceptable alternative to purchasing alternative fuel vehicles, or AFVs, as stipulated in the original EPACT.

Chevron Starts Donating

Jun 1, 2006

Chevron said it would invest up to $12m on technology to make biofuels from forest and agricultural waste and fuel from hydrogen.

House passes sweeping energy, climate bill

Jun 26, 2009

Sets mandatory caps on greenhouse gases for first time ever. Aims to make renewable energy cost competitive with fossil fuel.

President Obama highlights AFMC biofuels flight during energy speech at Andrews

Mar 31, 2010

An Air Force first-ever feasiblity flight demonstration of an A-10C Thunderbolt II fueled with a blend of biofuels garnered added attention today when President Barack Obama delivered a speech about energy security at Joint Base Andrews, Md.

EPA Grants E15 Waiver for Newer Vehicles

Oct 13, 2010

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today waived a limitation on selling fuel that is more than 10 percent ethanol for model year 2007 and newer cars and light trucks.

Ethanol Consumption Increases Nine-Fold

Jun 1, 2011

We have gone from 1 billion bushels of corn being used for ethanol in 2002, to 9 billion bushels of corn being used for ethanol in 2011.