Highly Powerful New Biofuel Could Change Rocket Engines Forever
(RT.com) Scientists have scored a breakthrough in high-energy biofuels by producing a bacterium that synthesizes highly-efficient pinene, a hydrocarbon made by trees. It could soon replace existing alternatives and usher in a new era of rocket engines.
Researchers have struggled for years with the problem of cheaper options to the JP-10, the very expensive petroleum-based fuel used in aerospace applications. What was underneath their nose the whole time isn’t a petroleum alternative, but a biological one – one that has just been made six times more efficient than previous attempts – synthesized by a Georgia Tech graduate who inserted enzymes from trees into the new bacterium and boosted pinene production dramatically.
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“If you are trying to make an alternative to gasoline, you are competing against $3 per gallon,” Peralta-Yahya explained. “That requires a long optimization process. Our process will be competitive with $25 per gallon in a much shorter time,” she said of the advantages.
The molecular structure of JP-10 makes it a current rocket fuel favorite, with its multiple carbon atom rings, which account for its energy density. But the amounts of JP-10 that can be extracted from each barrel of oil are limited. This accounts for the steep hike in the price per gallon. READ MORE and MORE (Biomass Magazine) Abstract Download study
