The growing increase in gasoline, generated by the recent conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, is accelerating the discovery of several scientists in the race for alternative fuels with unusual raw materials.
Between March 13th and 19th, the average price of all fuels increased; cooking gas had an average increase of 6,2% in the country. The new Petrobras readjustment was announced on Friday (18), but, to escape the high prices, scientists around the world, including Brazil, are working on alternative fuels with ideas ranging from melted chocolate, sewage gases and sea water. Check out some studies involving alternative fuels around the world.
Alternative fuels
Chocolate is a great source of energy, but being turned into an alternative fuel is unusual. With the mission of reducing the emission of pollutants, Ecotec, a British company specialized in fuels, decided to develop a fuel derived from chocolate.
To make this dark colored fuel, it was placed in a mixer with 100 ml of methanol and also with potassium hydroxide. This generates a honey-like fuel. This chocolate fuel technology was created by Rudolf Diesel, inventor of the peanut oil diesel engine.
- UK wants to extract 500 million barrels of oil from the Falkland Islands and reignites historic territorial dispute with Argentina
- Petrobras is already training to rescue animals affected by oil in the mouth of the Amazon, the “new” pre-salt
- Petrobras invests more than R$700 million to expand onshore oil and gas production, with expectations of generating more than 500 jobs in Bahia
- Norwegian energy giant abandons renewables, cuts €4bn and turns to oil for profit
In addition to chocolate, why not use the salt water as energy for high-performance engines? Considering that the planet is 70% composed of this liquid, scientists from Stanford University had this brilliant idea and the tests are already in advanced stages. The first method used to develop this “gasoline” consists of removing carbon from seawater and transforming it into a flammable liquid. But a newer, more recent method uses nanotechnology to extract hydrogen from the oceans.
Alternative fuels produced through sewage
Another alternative that may seem a little unpleasant for the development of synthetic gasoline is the use of gases present in the sewers. This technology was already being used in Brazil through a partnership between a German company and the Basic Sanitation Company of the State of São Paulo (Sabesp).
Through the technology developed between them, it is possible to filter and capture gases released in the sewage decomposition process, extracting the methane that can be used to feed internal combustion engines.
Bio-Bean, an English startup, has developed an alternative fuel that is also a delicious source of energy for many Brazilians. This is coffee grounds, which have been transformed into biofuel. To produce this gasoline, waste collected by the company is taken to a processing unit so that the coffee grounds are dried and transformed into an oil used in carbon neutral vehicles.
Scientist suggests people around the world can produce gasoline just by drinking water
Scientist Gerardine Botte, from the University of Ohio, USA, is an expert in transforming urine into hydrogen fuel. That's right, the urine you produce has two compounds that are sources of hydrogen, ammonia and urea. Hydrogen gas, which is produced by placing an electrode and a gentle current in the liquid, can be used to power a fuel cell.
In addition to sea water, another option for raw material from the marine environment is algae, which are being treated with great attention by scientists because they offer several advantages in relation to other alternative fuels used. With over 30 known species, algae can thrive in a wide variety of conditions and environments. To produce synthetic gasoline, algae are processed at high temperatures to be transformed into an oil used in vehicles.