Though not directly a story relating to animals, the replacement of fossil fuels, such as gas and oil, with plant-based bio-fuels, is fundamental in our efforts to reduce the world's carbon footprint and climate change. The department of chemistry at the University of Copenhagen have released a study through the Journal of Physical Chemistry, that can produce a model of the efficiency and more importantly the toxicity of proposed bio-fuels, before manufacturing a single drop.
Led by computational chemist Solvejg Jorgensen the team have displayed an array of pre-determining data illustrating how bio-fuels created via the wrong synthesis paths could decompose into hazardous compounds such as smog, carcinogenic particles and formaldehyde. Previous to the chemist's simulations, there was no way of investigating the possible risks of bio-fuel manufacture, without the creation of sample fuels to test. Introducing such a successful model will most certainly result in cheaper and safer development of bio-fuels, at a faster rate.
Compared to the manufacture and testing of individual bio-fuel samples, some projects running in to years in length, the computer model created by Jorgensen can compute and calculate the millions of different possible manufacturing and synthesis processes in only ten days, giving hope to a nearer cleaner future in biological energy.
"There is almost and infite number of different ways to get to these fuels. We can show the least hazardous avenues to follow, and we can do that with a series of calculations that take only days."
- Solvejg Jorgensen
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