The environmental trend dictates that we should abandon gasoline and use clean energy sources instead of “dirty” fuels. The shortage of fossil fuels on world markets is also becoming more relevant: in 50 years, mankind will experience a shortage of minerals, says a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of the Southern Technological University of China. Hightech has compiled a selection of the most unusual environmentally friendly fuels, some of which are already in use.
Ramen soup, mustard or space debris – these three things have in common the fact that they can form the basis for biofuels.
Waste plastic fuel
The problem of plastic waste is becoming critical. Large countries create several million tons of plastic, of which only 9% is recycled. This is because plastic waste is difficult to turn into useful building blocks for other products.
Researchers at Washington State University have come up with a new technology that turns plastic waste into a fuel base in just an hour. The authors experimented with catalysts and conditions that can help make hydrocarbons from polyethylene.
The scientists used a catalyst made of carbon and silvery-white metallic ruthenium, as well as several popular solvents. As a result, the researchers made a fuel base made of 90% plastic. They also produced other hydrocarbons. The process took place at a temperature of 220 ° C – usually in similar cases, temperatures much higher are used, for example, 500 ° C.
Researchers at Washington State University have come up with a new technology that turns plastic waste into a fuel base in just an hour. The authors experimented with catalysts and conditions that can help make hydrocarbons from polyethylene.
Collect space debris and make fuel
Space debris is broken satellites and debris from explosions and collisions of spacecraft. Astronomers can only track large parts, as they fly by quickly and not all can be recorded. The main problem is the failure of working satellites due to collisions with space debris. Therefore, engineers come up with different ways of how to assemble it. For example, using rotating magnets. And in China, the space debris cleaner has already been tested in orbit. But one question remained: after that. how was the garbage collected, what to do with it next?
The Australian company Neumann Space has created a space-based electric propulsion system that can be used in low-earth orbit. The prototype installation has already demonstrated that it can catch debris, then cut and melt. As a result, metal rods are obtained, then they are ionized. This will create a thrust with which you can move objects in space.
Aircraft fuel was made on the basis of … mustard!
Air travel today accounts for 2.4% of all CO2 emissions in the world. At the same time, biofuels are produced only 0.05% of the approximately 50 billion gallons that are consumed annually.
The authors of the new work from the University of Georgia in the United States have proposed an unusual solution. During the experiment, they found out that Brassica carinata – an inedible seed crop – can be processed into fuel. The plant is referred to under common names: Ethiopian rapeseed, Ethiopian mustard and Abyssinian mustard.
Mustard fuels can seriously reduce your carbon footprint if used massively. But what surprised the researchers most was that the fuel was relatively inexpensive. By comparison, conventional petroleum-based fuels cost 50 cents per liter, while mustard-based fuels range from 12 cents to $ 1.28 per liter. If the US government introduces incentives, production will be even cheaper.
Air travel today accounts for 2.4% of all CO2 emissions in the world. At the same time, biofuels are produced only 0.05% of the approximately 50 billion gallons that are consumed annually.
Refuel the truck with fuel from the broth from the ramen
The head of the Japanese transport company Nishida Shoun Masumi Nishida invented a new biofuel from the remains of ramen soup. This is a dish with wheat noodles and pork bone broth. Soup is very popular in Japan, which leaves a lot of waste after its production.
Masumi Nishida began buying leftover broth from about 2,000 restaurants and cafes in order to produce around 3,000 liters of new biodiesel every day. The creation of ecofuel is based on a technology that separates broth and lard. The latter is used at further stages of production.
The fat quickly hardens so that certain chemical elements are not removed from it, so the product remains in a liquid state. Then lard is mixed with waste vegetable oil to obtain biodiesel. This idea has already been applied in practice – a transport company, headed by Masumi Nishida, is filling some of its 170 trucks with the new type of fuel. Later, it is planned to transfer the entire vehicle fleet to ecofuel.
What problems can ecofuels have?
Hydrogen remains the most popular alternative to fossil fuels today. Airplanes, yachts and even rockets are designed on the basis of this fuel.
But according to a study published in the journal Energy Science and Engineering, the carbon footprint of blue hydrogen could be 20% greater than that from burning natural gas or coal. The authors note that the very process of using hydrogen is environmentally friendly.
But before that, you still need to take it from somewhere. And this is where difficulties arise – during the production of blue hydrogen, emissions of carbon dioxide and methane occur. The technology that captures them is imperfect and allows 10 to 15% of the generated CO2 to pass through. As a result, blue hydrogen has its own carbon footprint depending on the type of production.
It also emits 60% more emissions than burning diesel fuel. Therefore, today researchers are exploring alternative methods for producing hydrogen, for example, using the electrolysis of water.
Hydrogen remains the most popular alternative to fossil fuels today. Airplanes, yachts and even rockets are designed on the basis of this fuel.
So far, these types of ecofuel look strange and unusual, because we are not used to them. But such a variety suggests that soon we will find the most efficient alternative to gasoline and will begin to get used to refueling equipment with mustard or soup that has not been eaten by anyone.
