Running on ‘shrooms: The New Biodiesel
In a new development on sustainable fuels, Scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology have discovered a better way to product Biodiesel.
Biodiesel is a fuel that is usually created by heating a mixture of vegetable oil, methanol and lye.
Typically, biodiesel is made by mixing methanol with lye and vegetable oil and then heating the brew for several hours. This bonds the methanol to the oils to produce energetic molecules called esters. Unfortunately, heating the mixture is a huge waste of energy, and a major selling point of alternative fuels is efficiency. An enzyme called lipase can link link oil to methanol without any extra heating, but the pure protein is expensive. -Wired
The method scientists have discovered uses a specific type of fungi that produces lipase naturally. The mixture is then passes through pellets made from this fungi, and voila! Cheap sustainable biofuel.
This discovery could bring the price of biofuel down dramatically as there are no costs associated with heating the mixture and there is no need to purchase expensive lipase.
If the price of biofuel is cheap enough we could have a viable alternative to gasoline. The fuel is much more sustainable and better on the environment than gasoline.
If this discovery gets mass-market appeal we could all be driving ‘shroom powered cars in the near future!
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