Expedito Parente's Prodiesel (first biodiesel patent)
Prodiesel de Expedito Parente (primera patente de biodiésel)
- Date
- 1980 · confidence high
- Place
- Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
- Credited to
- Expedito José de Sá Parente
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The Brazilian chemist Parente patented in 1980 (PI 8007957) an industrial process for transesterifying vegetable oils with ethanol or methanol, and named it Prodiesel. He is credited with the first biodiesel patented as a fuel under that description, tested in vehicles and a light aircraft.
Chavanne (Belgium, 1937) had already patented the transesterification of oils for fuel; what is claimed for Parente is the first industrial patent under the name “biodiesel” and with ethanol. The grant date (1983) and its scope vary between sources.
What it led to
- Brazilian national biodiesel programme (PNPB, 2004) and mandatory blending
- use of ethanol instead of methanol in esterification, an advantage of Brazilian agribusiness
- diversification of oilseeds (castor, palm, soy) for energy