The vegetable-based bio-diesel is rapidly growing importance with the increasing concerns for global warming across the world, as an alternative to fossil fuel, the main culprit behind greenhouse gases emission.
But, again it also calls for making it suitable for the car engines, especially its being pure to give a longer life to the engines. In cue with the necessity to make it fall comfortably on everyone’s pocket as well, a team of University of Leicester chemists have come up with an amazing solution.
They have come up with a new bio-diesel-purifying method which is not only — to your interest — cheap, but also simple and have low-toxicity. Ionic liquids, made in part by vitamin B4 — choline chloride – are used to separate glycerol.
Glycerol is the main by-product of vegetable oil-based bio-diesels.
It is not only that the new Leicester process is cheaper and simpler, but also contributes hugely towards the environment, compared to the traditional processes.
The methodology they have used is also very effective as well as sustainable. It purifies the bio-diesel without producing significant amount and type of waste.
Thus, besides providing a cheaper and effective alternative to bio-diesel purification methods, it may in future be of great help in recovering glycerol from bio-diesel.
