Diesel fuel is a liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, which is a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression. Diesel fuel is refined from crude oil and from biomass materials. It is a mixture of hydrocarbons obtained by distillation of crude oil, with boiling points in the range of 150 to 380°C, which are obtained from petroleum. Diesel fuel releases more energy on combustion than equal volumes of gasoline, so diesel engines generally produce better fuel economy than gasoline engines. Diesel fuel is important to the U.S. economy, as most of the products we use are transported by trucks and trains with diesel engines, and most construction, farming, and military vehicles and equipment also have diesel engines. Some key facts about diesel fuel include:

• Diesel fuel has many colloquial names; most commonly, it is simply referred to as diesel.
• In the United Kingdom, diesel fuel for on-road use is commonly called diesel or sometimes white diesel if required to differentiate it from a tax-advantaged agricultural-only product containing an identifying coloured dye known as red diesel.
• Petroleum diesel, also called petrodiesel, fossil diesel, or mineral diesel, is the most common type of diesel fuel.
• Synthetic diesel, or Fischer-Tropsch diesel, can be produced from natural gas, from synthesis gas derived from coal, or from biogas obtained from biomass.
• Biodiesel, a biofuel, can be made primarily from oily plants such as the soybean or oil palm.
• Diesel fuel is important to the U.S. economy, as most of the products we use are transported by trucks and trains with diesel engines, and most construction, farming, and military vehicles and equipment also have diesel engines.