Tiny Reactor Boosts
Biodiesel Production
April 20, 2006 — By William McCall, Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — A tiny chemical
reactor that can convert vegetable oil directly into biodiesel could
help farmers turn some of their crops into homegrown fuel to operate
agricultural equipment instead of relying on costly imported oil.
"This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates
people," said Goran Jovanovic, a chemical engineering professor at
Oregon State University who developed the microreactor.
The device -- about the size of a credit card -- pumps vegetable oil and
alcohol through tiny parallel channels, each smaller than a human hair,
to convert the oil into biodiesel almost instantly.
By comparison, it takes more than a day to produce biodiesel with
current technology.
Conventional production involves dissolving a catalyst, such as sodium
hydroxide, in alcohol, then stirring it into vegetable oil in large vats
for about two hours. The mixture then has to sit for 12 to 24 hours
while a slow chemical reaction forms biodiesel along with glycerin, a
byproduct.
The glycerin is separated and can be used to make other products, such
as soaps, but it still contains the chemical catalyst, which must be
neutralized and removed using hydrochloric acid, a long and costly
process.
The microreactor under development by the university and the Oregon
Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute eliminates the mixing, the
standing time and maybe even the need for a catalyst.
"If we're successful with this, nobody will ever make biodiesel any
other way," Jovanovic said.
The device is small, but it can be stacked in banks to increase
production levels to the volume required for commercial use, he said.
Biodiesel production on the farm also could reduce distribution costs by
eliminating the need for tanker truck fuel delivery, part of the growing
effort to meet fuel demand locally -- instead of relying on distant
refineries and tanker transport.
"Distributed energy production means you can use local resources --
farmers can produce all the energy they need from what they grow on
their own farms," Jovanovic said.
Source: Associated Press
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