Eco Factor: New approach to produce more sustainable and cost-competitive biofuel.
The conventional process used to produce biofuel from algae destroys algae to extract their oil. Researchers at DOE’s Ames National Laboratory and Iowa State University, in partnership with Catilin, Inc. have developed a new technology that makes use of nanoparticles to absorb free fatty acids from living microalgae.
Using the Nanofarming technique, researchers can coax out the oil on a molecular level and mix it with a non-toxic biofuel catalyst to produce biofuel and enable the algae to keep growing. Dubbed the T300, the catalyst is recyclable and would replace the conventional biofuel catalyst sodium methylate, a salt that kills human nerve cells. According to Catilin, the T300 could shave up to 19 cents per gallon off the cost of conventional biodiesel production as well.
Via: CleanTechnica
