Create biofuel in just a few dozen minutes

Interesting findings by researchers at the University of Michigan, USA show that heating microalgae in high pressure cookers can accelerate the process of creating crude oil from millions of years (in nature) to several tens of minutes. .

Phillip Savage, a professor of biochemical engineering at the University of Michigan, the principal researcher on the project, said it was a conjugate process that included hydrothermal, catalytic, and biological methods.

Microalgae are microscopic algae with a simple structure, floating on the water and without leaves, roots or stalks. These algae are more biodegradable than other potential plants that can be used as biofuels because they do not have a solid cell membrane.

Meanwhile, unlike fossil fuels, fuel derived from algae does not contain carbon. This algae absorbs CO2 from the air and releases it when it is burned, not increasing CO ₂ as fossil fuels.

The fabrication method is very simple, the researchers cook "algae soup" in high pressure equipment, bringing the temperature in the device up to 300 degrees Celsius in the time from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

The result of algae decomposition at high temperature and pressure and they obtained a bio-oil with a certain amount of protein (protein) and carbohydrate.

The other job is to extract from a mixture of tar-like compounds that can be poured into a fuel tank.

Researchers are also considering the possibility of developing new fuel sources by decomposing waste products from bio-oil biomass used earlier by the E-coli bacteria. This means that all waste of this process is reused to produce biofuels.

In the future, the University of Michigan researchers' findings may play an important role in addressing the problem of energy shortage and reducing CO ₂ emissions in the energy sector, contributing to environmental protection. school./.