Atropha aims to make biofuels to withstand harsh climate

MHT - Mass High Tech - The Journal of New England Technology
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

In July, a state mandate kicks in requiring that 2 percent of all diesel fuel be composed of biofuels. That will increase by 1 percent every year for three years until it hits 5 percent. A similar mandate in Minnesota ran into problems last winter because biofuels cloud up and solidify. Chad Joshi, CEO of Atropha LLC, wants to keep that from happening again. “[Biofuels] work well in the tropics, but in cold weather you have problems,” Joshi said.

Vegetable oil-based biofuel molecules have lots of oxygen, which causes the fuel to cloud and thicken under 55 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the type. Atropha is developing an electrochemical process to break down the vegetable oil and deoxygenate its molecules, making it a viable fuel for environments as cold as 50 degrees below zero, Joshi said.

Read the full story