Fungi Make Biodiesel More Efficiently

by Larry Smith

What do you call a mushroom that likes to buy a round of drinks? A fungi.

Well, now scientists have found a fungus that can produce biodiesel with impressive efficiency. Its name is Metarhizium anisopliae.

Typically, biodiesel is made by mixing methanol with lye and vegetable oil and then heating the brew for several hours. Unfortunately, heating the mixture is a huge waste of energy, and a major selling point of alternative fuels is efficiency.

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology pass sunflower oil and methanol through a bed of pellets made from fungal spores. An enzyme produced by the fungus does the work. This new method could lower the cost and increase the energy efficiency of fuel production, according to a recent article in Wired Science.

Currently, biodiesel is being produced in tiny quantities at the Island School on Cape Eleuthera for use in their fleet of diesel vans. The school uses discarded cooking oil retrieved from cruise ships that stop at a nearbyshore facility to produce 20,000 gallons of biodiesel a year.

Cape Systems Ltd (a subsidiary of the Island School) has just signed a co-operation agreement with Bahamas Waste in Nassau to take used oil from restaurants, hotels and cruise ships to process 500,000 gallons of biodiesel a year for sale to fleet operators.

Comments

[D. Leblanc]

In my opinion Biodiesel is a fantastic initiative and should be implimented throughout the islands. There should be cooking oil depots every where. Biodiesel recycles the oil, while helping the environment. Bravo to Island School on Cape Eleuthera !