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Tiny Biodiesel Reactors

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the tiny-power-plant dept.

Lee_in_KC writes "A professor of chemical engineering at Oregon State University developed a small reactor to directly convert vegetable oil to biodiesel. Goran Jovanovic reports his invention is approximately the size of a credit card. It pumps vegetable oil and alcohol through parallel channels to convert the oil into biodiesel almost instantly. Current mainstream methods to produce biodiesel take more than a day and also produces other byproducts which must be neutralized before disposal or use in other manufacturing processes."

13 of 369 comments (clear)

  1. Two Words by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Mr. Fusion.

  2. Just what America needs... by brian0918 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Aren't we fat enough without our cars putting on extra pounds as well?!?! Vegetable oil has like 20 grams of fat per serving.. I wonder how many miles-per-gallon my Hummer will get after its intake is clogged with cholesterol..

    1. Re:Just what America needs... by PapayaSF · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, you're looking at it backwards: think of all the excess fat we have available for automobile fuel! Every liposuction could be like a little oil well....

      --
      Q: What does the "B." in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stand for? A: Benoit B. Mandelbrot
  3. Great news... by Easy2RememberNick · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd applaude but the sodium methoxide disolved the flesh of my hands.

  4. Can I get Tiny Reflective Mudflap Women... by Nova+Express · · Score: 3, Funny
    ...to put on my tiny biodiesel engine? That way all the other miniature tiny biodiesel trucks will know to blow their tiny horns as I pass...

    --
    Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)

    http://www.lawrenceperson.com/

  5. Will that be cash - or biodiesel? by WillAffleck · · Score: 4, Funny

    I find it interesting that the biodiesel reactor is - literally - the size of a credit card.

    Biodiesel car upgrade $50
    New fuel lines $80
    Energy independence ... Priceless!

    For a free fuel life, there's GTA
    For everything else, there's BiodieselCard.

    --
    Will in Seattle
  6. Well now that's just silly. by ScrewMaster · · Score: 4, Funny

    I mean, my car already runs on a credit-card-sized device. It's called a credit card.

    --
    The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  7. Really? by LoRdTAW · · Score: 3, Funny

    "a unit about the size of a computer printer and costing $1,000 to $5,000 could produce as much as 50,000 to 100,000 gallons of biodiesel a year."
    "Jovanovic compared it to Hewlett-Packard when that company invented the inkjet printer cartridge."


    Looks at printer sized bio diesel generator: ...REPLACE CYAN BIO DIESEL CARTRIDGE...

    This guy must really like printers.

  8. I think we should use animal fat by dteichman2 · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's more concentrated in terms of caloric value (energy).

    Plus, PETA's reaction would be hysterical.

    --


    Silence is golden... and duct tape is silver.
  9. What I really want to know... by thatseattleguy · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...is whether it can run in reverse: pump in biodiesel and veggie oil, and get pure alcohol out the other end. Then we'll really have something! :}

  10. rapeseed by sentientbrendan · · Score: 2, Funny

    ah, I see. So with unrefined rapeseed oil, we can skip the step of moving to a hydrogen based economy, and move directly to a "rape" based economy. Where "rape" is the fancy new term for "unrefined rapeseed oil". I'm sure that "rape" will make all of our lives much better.

    1. Re:rapeseed by Hal_Porter · · Score: 2, Funny

      Rapeseed oil needs to be rebranded I admit.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapeseed
      Canola or SupriseSex! perhaps.

      I think in the EU, the Common Agricultural Policy could be tweaked to encourage people to grow it, and you could remove all fuel tax on biodiesel and SVO for a five years or so.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    2. Re:rapeseed by tigersha · · Score: 2, Funny

      Don't laugh. Branson was once complaining about Virgin Olive Oil with some company until the courts told him that he does not have copyright on the word Virgin.

      The Economist with their dry humour suggested that we reclassify olive oils as Normal and Deflowered.

      --
      The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism