Terrafinity catalyst for high FFA feedstock - Wake Forest University

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Researchers at Wake Forest University seem to have a formula for a catalyst that could lower the cost of producing biodiesel enough so that it could provide 5 percent of the nation's needs.

Researchers are developing an inexpensive method for converting the free fatty acids into biodiesel with a yield greater than 98 percent in less than 15 minutes. The catalyst can be produced for 11 cents a gram in the laboratory, although Lachgar,a chemistry professor at the university, said that the per-gram cost will be significantly reduced in a commercial setting.

The initial build-out cost for the project is about $85,000 -- $70,000 for a building large enough to handle production and $15,000 for the equipment and safety features. Researchers are pursuing grants and eventually plan to pitch their technology to energy companies, such as Duke Energy Corp.

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