The era of home fuel production

A team of US researchers has found a way to create diesel-like fuel from daily-life waste to help disaster-stricken residents create fuel to produce electricity at home, Reuters reported. posted on November 13.

Two weeks after Sandy stormed into the US East Coast, tens of thousands of people in the area still suffer from blackouts.

Many families are equipped with generators, but are still unable to use them because the supply of gasoline in the area affected by natural disasters is still very limited.

Use household waste to create fuel

Dr. Philip Laible of Argonne National Laboratory said he had a solution to the problem.

'Imagine we can own a small reactor, capable of producing fuel. This amount of fuel may not be enough for the entire electrical system in the house, but at least it will help victims withstand a longer period of time, and reduce the amount of fuel to transport to they, ' Dr. Laible said.

The research team's bio-fuel bioreactor
Argonne National Laboratory - (Photo: Reuters)

Dr. Laible and his team are currently working on making a bioreactor, capable of producing the same fuel as diesel through the use of waste decomposing bacteria that the research team created. out.

'This bacterium eats carbon from the environment and uses energy that produces in photosynthesis or from other sources from the environment to convert it into fuel according to the mechanism we designed. The bacteria will not retain the fuel they produce inside the body, they will spray out. This amount of fuel will then be used for diesel-powered equipment ' , said Philip Laible.

Direction for the era of home fuel production

Laible also added that, unlike traditional fossil fuels, bacteria produced by bacteria do not need to be re-refined, they can be used immediately.

In addition, there is another advantage that this bioreactor can use domestic waste to generate fuel.

Dr. Philip Laible said: 'Being able to use different types of carbon is one of the strengths of this fuel production method. The bacteria that we create can generate fuel from many different things. '

The doctor also said the process of turning waste into fuel takes about two to four days; however, his team will complete a system that is capable of continuously generating fuel.

Dr. Laible's research still needs a few more years to become a complete product to market, but he confirmed the era of home fuel production is coming.