WPI Makes Cheaper Biofuel?
By Sam Rooney
This article was written for the September 13, 2022 issue of Tech News, WPI’s campus newspaper.
On August 31 of this year, WPI grad student Heather Leclerc et al. published a paper detailing an improved way to produce biofuel. Biofuel is made by taking some kind of biomass, typically algae or food waste, extracting the oil content, and separating it into different grades of fuel.
There are several ways to do this, including chemical reactions and fermentation, but the particular method Leclerc et al. studied was closer to “a simulation of the oil-producing reactions in the Earth’s crust.”
To produce oil this way, food waste is added to water, a catalyst is added, and the mixture is placed into a reactor chamber which is heated and greatly pressurized. This produces a form of crude oil, which is then separated into its components in the same way traditional petroleum is separated into gasoline, diesel, and other products; fractional distillation.
The research was focused on what catalyst best encouraged the formation of oil through this process, with an eye towards economic viability. The researchers found that the best catalyst for this process is hydroxyapatite: a material that not only greatly assists oil production, but also occurs naturally in animal bone.
This research is relevant because biofuel has the potential to replace traditional petroleum oil at a fraction of the cost. Economic analysis completed by the team revealed that the base price of gas produced with this method is around $4.78; but by taking advantage of food waste management credits around the country, among other incentives, it may be possible to see the price of biofuel fall to just $1.10 per gallon in some places.
Even if the credit systems don’t fall into place, some states have such high gas prices that the original price alone is suitable. Take California, for instance, which still has an average gas price of $5.40 per gallon; for reference, Massachusetts currently stands at an average price of $3.80. (information collected from gasprices.aaa.com)
If you’re a WPI student of any grade (including freshmen), and you’re interested in pursuing research opportunities in this field, you’re asked to contact Heather Leclerc (hleclerc@wpi.edu) or Prof. Michael Timko (mttimko@wpi.edu) to learn more. (As an aside, Heather’s favorite coffee is a caramel iced coffee from Dunkin, with no cream and no sugar. I don’t encourage bribery, but I’m sure it couldn’t hurt…)
The research paper is cited as follows:
LeClerc et al., Hydroxyapatite catalyzed hydrothermal liquefaction transforms food waste from an environmental liability to renewable fuel, iScience (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104916
Title picture is from Matthew Burgos, source WPI