Farmers Using Microtechnology to Make Biodiesel
by Justin Thomas, Virginia 
on 02.22.06
Farmers are working with scientists from Oregon State University to make biodiesel from their own soybean, canola, rape and mustard seed crops. Using microtechnology, the scientists have developed a new, faster way to create biodiesel. Goran Jovanovic, professor of chemical engineering at OSU, serves as lead investigator in the research. Jovanovic keeps a design prototype in a sandwich bag in his office. It's a plastic plate with 30 microreactor channels running parallel to each other, each about the width of a human hair. The entire plate can easily fit in the palm of a hand.
At one end of the plate are two indents. Jovanovic fills one with alcohol and the other with oil. They flow down the channels, reacting and producing glycerol — a common ingredient in soap and biodiesel.
He noted that microtechnology produces biodiesel about 100 times faster than the classical method. Another benefit is the small size of the plates, which makes the microreactors discrete and deployable.
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Does anyone know any info on this? Is this available?
I'll bet this will soon be in large demand.
Hopefully it brings the costs down given there is some debate whether bio fuel actually reduces reliance on fossil fuels or increases it since you need fossil fuels to make ethanol and other bio fuels.
Climb CA, just to clarify, biodiesel is very different than ethanol. Lumping the two together is like lumping the Empire State Building in with an adobe hut and calling them "buildings". Yes, ethanol and biodiesel are both biofuels in that they are both fuels that are produced using living organisms, but that's about as far as the similarities go.
When you talk about "biofuels", just as in everything else, there are good ones and bad ones. Ethanol is indeed highly inefficient when it comes to the ratio of energy input to energy output - making it a not terribly good fuel in the long run. Biodesel, on the other hand, can be very efficient, and if made locally, can be extremely good.
Finally a method that doesnt produce RCRA hazardous waste as a by product, (methanol contaminated soap.) Does anyone have links to more info? There got to be a better way, how much soap can you hide?
Almost sounds to good to be true. Someone will probably buy it and let it sit in a vault for the next 20 years while we chase this Ethanol rabbit.