US scientists turn chicken into biodiesel

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The University of Arkansas recently announced that its chemical engineers have developed a new process that uses supercritical methanol to convert chicken fat into biodiesel. Based on this research, scientists have found a way to convert tall oil fatty acids into biodiesel. Tall oil fatty acids are a major by-product of the wood pulping process. These two process achievements represent a major breakthrough in fuel production, and relevant researchers and oil companies have begun to consider using this biodiesel to replace petroleum. When a substance is heated and pressurized to a critical point, it will enter a "supercritical" state. Extreme high temperatures and pressures can cause substances to exist in an equilibrium state between gaseous and liquid states. Researchers used the supercritical methanol method to dissolve chicken fat and tall oil fatty acids, allowing the components of the two substances to react under high temperature and pressure to convert them into biodiesel. This process does not require the use of catalysts, and the biodiesel yield is very high, with the yield of chicken fat being 89% and the yield of tall oil fatty acids being 94%. In previous experiments, scientists used conventional processes to add catalysts to make biodiesel. This method has a high output rate, but requires longer reaction times and large amounts of ethanol, and the feedstock usually uses higher-cost vegetable oil, so biodiesel production is not economically feasible. The supercritical methanol method does not require the use of catalysts and can avoid problems such as the generation of unwanted by-products and reduced output rates, and it uses cheaper raw materials such as chicken fat. * * Reduced biodiesel production costs. Currently, biodiesel still costs twice as much to produce as gasoline. This new process will provide broad prospects for the use of biodiesel. Biodiesel is produced without the use of petroleum products and is made from renewable materials such as vegetable oils and animal fats. Scientists are currently working on using cheaper feedstocks to produce biodiesel so that its cost can eventually become competitive with gasoline.