Scientists at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium have succeeded in converting the cellulose in sawdust into hydrocarbon chains, an important additive in petrol (gasoline) and plastics, which could potentially provide a solution to the global energy crisis.’
Cellulose, an organic compound obtained from wood pulp, straw, grass and cotton, contains strong carbon chains. The researchers were able to remove the oxygen bonded to these carbon chains to create a product that only requires one simple step before it can become fully-distilled petrol.
The research, titled ‘Direct catalytic conversion of cellulose to liquid straight-chain alkanes’, has been published in the Journal Energy & Environmental Science.
KU Leuven scientists have also built a chemical reactor in their lab to feed sawdust collected from a sawmill into the reactor and add a catalyst – a substance that sets off and speeds the chemical reaction. With the right temperature and pressure, it takes about half a day to convert the cellulose in the wood shavings into saturated hydrocarbon chains, or alkanes.
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