Químicos melhoram síntese do biodiesel

(Notícia em Inglês)
Two Brown chemists have developed a more efficient way to produce biodiesel from waste vegetable oil.

Using two catalysts common in organic chemistry, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jason Sello and Postdoctoral Fellow Aaron Socha were able to synthesize biodiesel in a single reaction vessel, according to a University press release. Their findings were published in the Oct. 7 issue of the journal Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry.

Traditional methods of synthesizing biodiesel from waste oil require two reaction vessels. The method developed by Sello and Socha is six times faster than current methods, consumes less energy overall and is more environmentally friendly, according to the release.

"We wanted to do research that had implications for alternative energy, and biodiesel is certainly an attractive area," Sello said.

Sello said he and Socha began their research in the middle of 2009. Their research was accepted by the journal on July 19 and was published online "almost immediately," he said.

browndailyherald.com»