Diesel Engines: Uses of diesel engines

The diesel engine in its many forms is the workhorse of modern industry. Our fuel experts explain what makes this type of engine so important

Uses of diesel engines

While the diesel engine is most commonly associated with diesel-fuelled passenger cars and commercial vehicles that run on road diesel/DERV (ULSD/EN 590 diesel in the UK), it is not exclusive to transport

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Diesel engines (and in the case of off-road applications, gas oil or red diesel) are the power source of choice for many types of hardware:

  ✔ Passenger vehicles

  ✔ Vans

  ✔ Lorries

  ✔ Buses and coaches

  ✔ Tractors

  ✔ Harvesters

  ✔ Many utility vehicles and ATVs

  ✔ Leisure boats

  ✔ Larger sea vessels

  ✔ Diesel power generators

  ✔ Cranes

  ✔ Bulldozers

  ✔ Diggers

  ✔ Rail transport

  ✔ Diesel-powered forklifts

Of course, the above list is non-exhaustive. In fact, diesel fuel is not limited to the diesel engine – furnaces and commercial boilers in the UK regularly use gas oil as heating oil fuel. However, Industrial Heating Oil (IHO) is a much cleaner, more cost-effective drop-in alternative for heating businesses.

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Diesel Engines: Benefits of diesel engines over petrol

The diesel engine in its many forms is the workhorse of modern industry. Our fuel experts explain what makes this type of engine so important

Benefits of diesel engines over petrol

The reason for the long list is that diesel engines are generally preferred over petrol as they allow for more torque and improved burning efficiency, although petrol does provide greater power than diesel fuel. However, this comes at a cost of burning faster, resulting in lower mileage than their diesel fuel counterparts.

The higher efficiency of diesel engines comes about from the higher pressures that these engines create when combusting their fuels, compared to petrol.

Because of these high pressures inside a diesel engine, they are built to be robust, meaning that they can be used in heavy-duty equipment, such as agricultural machinery and more.

Negatives of diesel fuel

Although diesel engines remain extremely popular, there are many downsides, particularly in regards to the high levels of emissions that fossil fuel diesel produces. In recent years, this has led to the rise in popularity of electric vehicles (EVs), but even EVs have compromises of their own.

• Non-renewable (blending and renewable drop-ins reduce or eliminate this issue)
• Oil drilling is damaging to the natural environment (modern, renewable drop-ins eliminate this issue)
• Oil drilling is damaging to the natural environment (modern, renewable drop-ins eliminate this issue)
• Sulphur content is present in some classes of fuel (ULSD is the most common diesel, and sulphur presence is much lower)
• Petroleum-based diesel fuels are toxic to the environment when spilt (renewable drop-ins eliminate this issue)
• Gelling in cold temperatures (high-performance alternatives operate at a larger range of temperatures)
• FAME content means diesel is hygroscopic (so it attracts water) and results in clogged filters and engine breakages (FAME-free alternatives do not have this issue)
• High levels of CO2 emissions (renewable alternatives reduce greenhouse gases by up to 90%)
• Air pollution and threat to human health (renewable fuels mitigate this)

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Diesel Engines: Benefits versus negatives of diesel engines

The diesel engine in its many forms is the workhorse of modern industry. Our fuel experts explain what makes this type of engine so important

Benefits versus negatives of diesel engines

The world’s reliance on fossil fuels arose out of necessity, and the fuels we use were always the best that industry could find from what was available at the time.

In the 19th century, oil lamps relied on whale oil, which had terrifying effects on ocean life. It wasn’t until 1854, when a cleaner-burning, more abundant and easier to produce alternative was produced by Canadian geologist Abraham Pineo Gesner through the distillation of crude oil that fuel consumption was able to switch to something better for the environment. At the time, this fuel was kerosene. From there, more petroleum products, such as diesel, petrol, lubricants were manufactured to serve industry, and the rest is history.

Since the earliest days of diesel engines, diesel has been a fuel of choice for several reasons as seen below

Benefits of using diesel fuel

✔ Fuel supply affordably meets demand

✔ Relatively efficient release of energy (compared to petrol)

✔ Clean burning (relative to petrol)

✔ Safe to be stored – stable at natural temperatures

✔ Diesel engines are heavy duty out of necessity

✔ Engines can remain operable for most temperatures experienced in the year

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Diesel Engines: How the Diesel Engine Works | Diesel Engines Are an Essential Part of Transport and Industry

The diesel engine in its many forms is the workhorse of modern industry. Our fuel experts explain what makes this type of engine so important

Diesel Engines Are an Essential Part of Transport and Industry – Here’s How They Work

Diesel engines are an example of an internal combustion engine and are present across countless kinds of applications. These kinds of engines differ from petrol engines in that they are an example of a compression ignition engine, ie, they use high pressure to combust it’s fuel, instead of an ignition source (such as the spark that fires petrol engines)

While diesel engines are mostly associated with diesel cars and commercial road transport, they are relied on to carry out a range of work in all sorts of industries, from generating heat, generating electricity as well as moving vehicles. Crown Oil’s fuel experts explain how these engines work and where you’ll see them in action.


Trivia: Diesel fuel is named after the engine for which it is manufactured, not the other way round. This is because the Diesel engine was invented by Rudolf Diesel. This is why you’ll sometimes see the Diesel capitalised, although we’ll stick to the common way of writing it.

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