Scientists are constantly warning us that oil supplies are running out, therefore we should look for alternative sources of energy. Electric vehicles are all good and well, but they require a completely new infrastructure on a global basis, something that’s not likely to happen very soon. Moreover, they are expensive and have many limitations – but that is a different story.
So far, the prime replacement of fossil fuel is biodiesel oil, which is made of soybeans. The problem is soybeans are also used for human and animal consumption.
The US alone consumes 45 billion gallons of diesel a year: just one billion gallons of soybeans-sourced biodiesel would require the use of 21% of America’s annual crop production. Therefore, biodiesel is also a limited resource.
But what if we could find more sources, that are available right now but instead of being converted to fuel go straight to landfills? At least that’s what researchers at the Lafayette campus of the University of Louisiana claim to have discovered. It’s derived from something used in making wallets, bags and leather belts: alligators – or, rather, their fat.
According to professor of chemical engineering at the university Rakesh Bajpai, alligators are grown and harvested for their skin and meat and their fat is then disposed in landfills. In addition, they are not, contrary to crocodiles, an endangered species. On the contrary, there are plenty around: “If you start seeing alligator road kill, you’ve arrived in Louisiana” jokes Dr. Bajpai.
He and five collaborators report on a paper they published in the Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research journal that they have converted 61% of alligator fat to liquids that can be used in biofuel. According to the paper, 15 million pounds of alligator fat would become 1.23 million gallons of fuel with an energy content 91% of petroleum diesel.
Dr. Bajpai and his colleagues estimate that a large plant would produce biofuel out of alligator fat at $2.40 a gallon, excluding the cost of the fat and transportation (presumably zero, since it’s currently a waste product). Such a price would make it competitive with diesel, and there are also various incentives that encourage the use of biofuel.
Story Source: The New York Times
