Diesel fuel is produced from various sources, the most common being petroleum. Other sources include biomass, animal fat, biogas, natural gas, and coal liquefaction.
Petroleum diesel, also called petro diesel is the most common type of diesel fuel. It is produced from the fractional distillation of crude oil between 200 °C (392 °F) and 350 °C (662 °F) at atmosric pressure, resulting in a mixture of carbon chains that typically contain between 8 and 21 carbon atoms per molecule.