A new scientific study has identified new nanoparticles which significantly improve the performance of biofuels.
Researchers at the National Institute of Technology in Tiruchirappalli, India, have discovered that adding alumina nanoparticles to the biofuel improves combustion and therefore performance, while also reducing emissions.
This is because they have a high surface-to-volume ration, and as such act as more efficient chemical catalysts.
They also produce "significantly reduced" quantities of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide, as well as less smoke.
Lead author R B Anand, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the institution, says that at the moment the high cost of nanoparticle production is a barrier to full implementation of this method, but it is a promising development for the future.
A new certification standard is to be introduced by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels to ensure biofuel production increases without encroaching onto land that would be better used for food production.
Typical Guttridge equipment used in the biofuel industry includes:
Conveyors – screw conveyors – chain conveyors – belt conveyors
