Washington State University researchers have made a key first step in economically converting plant materials to fuels: keeping iron from rusting.
Washington State University researchers have made a key first step in economically converting plant materials to fuels: keeping iron from rusting.
The researchers have determined how to keep iron from rusting in important chemical reactions that are needed to convert plant materials to fuels, meaning that the cheap and readily available element could be used for cost-effective biofuels conversion. Led by Yong Wang, Voiland Distinguished Professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, and Shuai Wang from the State Key Laboratory for Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces at Xiamen University, the researchers report on their work on the cover of the July issue of ACS Catalysis.
Researchers have been trying to find more efficient ways to create fuels and chemicals from renewable plant-based resources, such as from algae, crop waste, or forest residuals. But, these bio-based fuels tend to be more expensive with less energy density than fossil fuels. One big hurdle in using plant-based feedstocks for fuel is that oxygen has to be removed from them before they can be used.
“You want to use the cheapest catalyst to remove the oxygen,” said Jean-Sabin McEwen, a co-author on the paper and associate professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering. “Iron is a good choice because it’s super abundant.”
Read more at Washington State University
Image by MichaelGaida from Pixabay
