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'Fuel cocktail' to increase biodiesel yields by up to 24 percent | Chemists at UC (University of California) Davis have developed a new process that enable oilseed crops such as safflower to be made into a fuel cocktail that could increase yields of biodiesel by up to 24 percent. The method converts both plant oils and
carbohydrates into biodiesel in a single process, and should also improve the
performance characteristics of biodiesel, especially in cold weather. "Conventional
biodiesel production extracts plant oils and then converts them into fatty acid
esters that can be used to power engines," said Mark Mascal, professor of chemistry
at UC Davis and co-author of the paper with postdoctoral researcher Edward Nikitin.
That leaves behind the carbohydrate portion of the plant - the sugars, starches,
and cellulose that make up stems, leaves, seed husks and other structures. The
new process converts those carbohydrates into chemicals called levulinic acid
esters - at the same time and in the same vessel that the oils are converted to
fatty acid esters - resulting in a fuel cocktail that performs better at low temperatures
than conventional biodiesel. The fuel cocktail has a similar boiling range to
conventional biodiesel, but is thinner; it becomes waxy at a lower temperature.
Performance at low temperatures is a significant problem with B100 (conventional
biodiesel), Mascal said. "Our hope is that this blend of levulinate esters and
biodiesel would perform better over a wider range of temperatures than biodiesel,"
Mascal said. "Levulinate esters are nontoxic and are used as food additives,"
he said. "Costs of the new process may be somewhat higher than for conventional
biodiesel production, but should be offset by improved fuel yields and performance,"
he added. |
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