Biodiesel Using Nanotechnology

Bio-diesel is a future fuel. With petro-products becoming increasingly polluting and harmful to environment there is need for alternative sources of energy. In the current scenario exploring energy alternatives in the form of bio fuels namely ethanol and Bio-diesel assumes top priority. Bio-diesel derived from the plants like sun flower, rape seed canola or Jatropha Curcas can be used as a substitute to diesel. Current method of production of Bio-diesel is as follows.

A blend of alcohol and oil from food plants react with each other and gives Bio-diesel along glycerin. But this requires huge- sum of capital. With the advent of nanotechnology the production of Bio-diesel becomes economical and 100 times faster than traditional method. The latest technology has developed a micro reactor smaller than a thick credit card. This micro reactor contains series of parallel channels about the width of human hair. Then streams of alcohol and oil are injected into each micro channel at such a small scale the chemical reaction that converts oil into Biodiesel is almost instant. Bio-diesel produced in this method is 100 times faster than it does in the microscopic reactors used in large refineries. Thousands of micro channels stacked side-by-side to create a micro reactor in the size of a suitcase to produce one million gallons of Bio-diesel a year. This micro reactor eliminates the mixing, the standing time for separation and potentially the need for a dissolved catalyst. Biodiesel offers non-polluting option for powering net only cars and trucks but also boats, chainsaws, lawn movers and recreational vehicles such as four wheelers snowmobiles. It also promises to open lucrative new markets to farmers.