Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Pure and Cheap Biokerosene

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 28 2009 (IPS) - Biokerosene developed by the Brazilian University of Campinas as a means to reduce polluting emissions from the aviation industry is notable for its purity and low cost, says one of the scientists involved in producing it. The new biofuel costs about one-third of its fossil fuel equivalent and can be produced from any vegetable oil, chemical engineering research coordinator Rubens Maciel Filho told Tierramérica.

The method of separating out the various substances that result from the process of transesterification – which converts oils and fats into biofuel – is the key advance achieved by the Campinas researchers.

Its level of purity means that this renewable fuel won't freeze until it reaches 22 degrees below zero Celsius and can be mixed up to 20 percent with petroleum-based kerosene, maintaining a freezing point of 47 degrees below zero – essential for flying at high altitudes, said Filho.