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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."

2 of 369 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Will that be cash - or biodiesel? by kfg · · Score: 0, Troll

    . . .there's a LOT of ariable land in this country.

    Too bad they scraped all the topsoil off of it in order to build housing developments for people who now have to drive 20 miles each way to get to work and back.

    KFG

  2. Ostriches. by Pig+Hogger · · Score: 0, Troll
    As usual, the americans have their heads in the sand, hoping that magic technology will enable them to keep going in their plush trucks.

    Well, no.

    First, the amount of energy needed will stay the same, whether you run your truck on gasoline, diesel, alcohol, natural gas, wood, coal, electricity, hydrogen or gooseshit.

    Second, the result of combustion will always be CO2 (except for Hydrogen and electricity), so forget about cancelling global warming.

    Third, where are you going to grow all the plants needed to make all that vegetable oil and alcohol??? Where are you going to take the energy needed to transform all those plants into biodiesel? How many people will starve so the americans can still move their arses in their plush trucks???

    There is no miracle solution, except to stop relying on cars en masse.