Dr. Michael Page gave his fellowship lecture on May 26th. The title, "Biodiesel and Beyond: Alternative Fuel Sources and Green Materials" had everyone's interest. Dr. Page is doing some exciting work with biodiesel and green paint technology, and so are some of his students. Where petroleum is "a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons contained in rock strata that can be extracted and refined to make many products," biodiesel is a fatty acid methyl ester (otherwise known as FAME) that can be made from the triglycerides (lipids) of any living organism (e.g., soy and canola oils and more recently, algae). Chemically, biodiesel is very similar to petroleum. The big difference? Biodiesel is a sustainable product where petroleum is not. According to Dr. Page, biodiesel:
- is safer to store and handle
- increases the lifetime of a motor
- is a cleaner burning fuel (because it doesn't contain any heavy metals, it has a lower amount of particulate matter)
The other aspect of Dr. Page's work is "green" paint technology. He explained that polyurethanes are "sticky" molecules that serve as excellent adhesives for things like sealants, coatings, foams, etc. and are potentially sustainable if they can be made from a non-petroleum based product like glycerol (a waste product resulting from the process of making biodiesel). Dr. Page is looking into this as well as the possibility of making urethane from castor oil.
Thanks to Dr. Page for sharing the results of all the hard work he and his students (all undergrads!) are doing. We look forward to hearing more.
