Demystifying Local Fuel

Local fuel — fuel that is produced and used in the same area — is no mystery, nor does it require a rocket scientist to create it. All the science and technology needed to make it is ready. Here’s the four-step process and the technology options.

First, plant oil-producing plants that do not compete with food and do not compete with agricultural land, especially plants that can grow in critical and very critical lands. Proven examples is tamanu or nyamplung.

Second, after the oil is squeezed out — the majority of it contains triglycerides. Separate glycerol from triglycerides to produce fatty acids. The process is called hydrolysis, and the technology options are many. Some are capital-intensive but have low operating costs because they only need water to be a solvent as well as a catalyst at critical temperatures and pressures. The process uses Supercritical H2O.

There are those whose initial investment is cheap but the operating costs are rather high, namely using solid or liquid acid catalysts, or they can also use enzymes.

Third, separate the CO2 group from the fatty acid — it will be a hydrocarbon chain of various lengthalso . The process is called decarboxylation, and the technology options are many. The inexpensive operation uses an active carbon catalyst. Steps two and three can also be combined with the FCC — Fluid Catalytic Cracking reactor.

Fourth, separate the resulting carbon chains into groups of relatively homogeneous lengths, the process is called fractional distillation. Then we will have our own local fuel, for cooking (LPG), for cars and motorcycles (gasoline), for trucks and heavy equipment (diesel) and even if necessary also for airplanes (biojet).

Interested in making it happen?