Imagine Fuel Without Service Stations

TECHNOLOGY FOCUSImagine Fuel Without Service Stations CORVALLIS, OR (April 18, 2006) - Researchers at Oregon State University (OSU) have developed a nanoscale chemical microreactor for manufacturing biodiesel that is so efficient, fast and portable, it could enable farmers to produce a cleaner-burning diesel substitute on their farms using seed crops that they grow on their own land. The microreactor, being developed in association with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI), consists of a series of parallel channels, each smaller than a human hair, through which vegetable oil and alcohol are pumped simultaneously. At such a small scale, the chemical reaction that converts the oil into biodiesel is almost instant. Current conventional biodiesel production methods involve dissolving a catalyst, such as sodium hydroxide, in alcohol. The alcohol mixture is then agitated with vegetable oil in large vats for two hours. The liquid then sits for 12 to 24 hours while a slow chemical reaction occurs, creating biodiesel and glycerin, a byproduct that is separated out. This glycerin can be used to make soaps, but first the catalyst in it must be neutralized and removed using hydrochloric acid, a tedious and costly process.

A biodiesel microreactor.
(Photo: Oregon State University)

The microreactor eliminates the mixing, the standing time for separation and potentially the need for a dissolved catalyst. Developer Goran Jovanovic said, "This could be as important an invention as the mouse for your PC. If we're successful with this, nobody will ever make biodiesel any other way."

Jovanovic said the microreactor is about half the size of a thick credit card, and it could help farmers reduce their dependence on mass-produced petroleum as well as reduce the need to distribute fuel via truck, tanker or pipeline. "This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates people," Jovanovic said. "Most people think large-scale, central production of energy is cheaper, because we've been raised with that paradigm. But distributed energy production means you can use local resources - farmers can produce all the energy they need from what they grow on their own farms."

Although the amount of biodiesel produced from a single microreactor is a trickle, the reactors can be connected and stacked in banks to dramatically increase production. "By stacking many of these microreactors in parallel, a device the size of a small suitcase could produce enough biodiesel to power several farms or produce hundreds of thousands of gallons per year," Jovanovic said.

Using microreactors, biodiesel could be produced between 10 and 100 times faster than traditional methods, said Jovanovic, who is also developing a method for coating the microchannels with a non-toxic metallic catalyst. This would eliminate the need for the chemical catalyst, making the production process even more simple - a key to widespread use.

Jovanovic said that the ONAMI project is looking to partner with a new or existing company in order to commercialize the technology through its Microproducts Breakthrough Institute. But he admitted it will take a visionary business partner. "The challenge is that we're trying to change a paradigm, moving from centrally produced energy to distributed energy production, and that's not easy," he said. "But wind and solar energy technologies faced difficulties in their early days. And we're coming to a place in history where we cannot tolerate the growing uncertainty of petroleum-based energy supplies."

(Source: Oregon State University, ONAMI)