UC Santa Cruz: New chemical process makes biodiesel production easier, less energy intensive

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https://news.ucsc.edu/2024/11/biodiesel-easier-process.html

New chemical process makes biodiesel production easier, less energy intensive
Discovery by UC Santa Cruz researchers could accelerate biofuel’s adoption

November 08, 2024
By Jasmin Galvan

UC Santa Cruz chemists have discovered a new way to produce biodiesel from waste oil that both simplifies the process and requires relatively mild heat. This discovery has the potential to make the alternative fuel source much more appealing to the massive industrial sectors that are the backbone of the nation’s economy.

In 2022, the U.S. transportation sector alone used about 3 million barrels of diesel per day, accounting for about 75% of total consumption of the fuel in this country. That same year, diesel use accounted for about 10% of total energy-related CO2 emissions in the United States, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.

While some companies have turned towards electric vehicles to reduce their carbon footprint, the vast majority of fleets still run on diesel—in part, because biodiesel production is difficult, energy intensive, and so, has slowed adoption. Of all the energy sources used by the U.S. transportation sector in 2022, biofuels accounted for just 6%.

In their study, published on October 3 in the American Chemical Society journal Energy & Fuels, lead author Kevin Lofgren details a new way to turn used vegetable oil into biodiesel that involves sodium tetramethoxyborate (NaB(OMe)4). This chemical, used to make the active ingredient that reacts with oil to make biodiesel, is considered unique because it allows the biofuel to be easily separated from the byproducts of production—by simply pouring them off.

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https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.4c03643