Teeny Reactor Pumps Out Biodiesel

Associated Press - 6:57 PM - Apr, 19, 2006

PORTLAND, Oregon -- A tiny chemical reactor that can convert vegetable oil directly into biodiesel could help farmers turn some of their crops into homegrown fuel to operate agricultural equipment instead of relying on costly imported oil.

"This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates people," said Goran Jovanovic, a chemical engineering professor at Oregon State University who developed the microreactor.

The device -- about the size of a credit card -- pumps vegetable oil and alcohol through tiny parallel channels, each smaller than a human hair, to convert the oil into biodiesel almost instantly.

This sounds too good to be true. It would certainly be worth it for some objective engineering types to look into this and see if there really has been a technological break through, or whether this is simply the latest anti-oil hype based on technology that is not commercially applicable.