As the world turns away from dirty energy sources, scientists are racing to find sustainable fuel alternatives that will provide as much power without planetary harm.
Earlier last month, researchers from King's College London and the Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory announced the development of biofuel created from food waste — used cooking oil — that does just that. What's even better — the technology is simple but effective, and the material cost remains low, making this particular biofuel sustainable to produce on a large scale.
"Biofuels are liquid fuels produced from renewable biological sources, including plants and algae," the Department of Energy defines. Organic matter, or biomass, from humans and animals may also be used as fuel material.
Producing biofuel involves introducing enzymes and microbes to help break down feedstock (biofuel raw material) to then convert to chemicals used for fuel.
While burning biofuel does not completely eliminate gas pollution, it is considerably cleaner than burning gas. Cellulosic ethanol, a biofuel made from cellulose, can reduce harmful gas pollution by up to 86%, the Department of Energy shared. As biofuel materials also come from renewable sources (e.g., plants), they can be replenished naturally.
As impressive as biofuel sounds, prior methods of producing biofuel have not yet proven sustainable.
"Typically, these fuels contain a lot of oxygen molecules which burn inefficiently," a news release by King's College explained.
To create a biofuel as powerful as diesel, these inefficient biofuels required more feedstock, as well as energy and time to deoxygenate, which raised production costs to "two times that of fossil fuels."
Additionally, previous deoxygenation methods involved using expensive metals like platinum or cobalt for catalysts, which added to material costs.
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The collaborative effort of researchers at King's College London and the Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory resulted in a biofuel method that checked off most pain points of biofuel production.
Instead of growing more feedstock for biofuel, the researchers helped reduce food waste by sourcing materials from used cooking oil, conserving natural resources. Food waste, when decomposing in the landfill, releases a potent gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and leads to the planet's warming.
Additionally, instead of using expensive metals as catalysts in the production process, the scientists modified an enzyme to act as a biological catalyst. The enzyme would break down fatty acids in the oil with the help of liquid salt and UV light to activate the process.
"What we've created is the chemical equivalent to the fossil fuels we're using every day," Dr. Alex Brogan, author of the King's College London news release, said, revealing that his childhood memories of oil outside of chip shops were an inspiration. This fuel is as effective as diesel at "1000-times more efficient than current" biofuel methods, the news release read.
"Our (bio)technology enables us to expand to other renewable materials and produce a variety of fuels, including gasoline and kerosene for the aviation sector," Dr. Leticia Zanphorlin, principal investigator at Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory, said, per the news release.
Biofuel could change the trajectory of large energy-dependent industries like aviation, trucking, and logistics, while saving companies money. Additionally, scientists can leverage this innovative biotechnology to drive advancements in pharmaceutical science, making medicine more effective and affordable.
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