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From chip shop to pit stop – scientists make cooking oil biofuel as efficient as diesel (www.kcl.ac.uk)

submitted 1 week ago by Joker@sh.itjust.works to c/science@mander.xyz

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[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Those that can directly replace petrol or diesel in conventional combustion engines have been touted as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, with fuels derived from food waste cutting greenhouse gases by up to 94%.

Someone explain to me how burning vegetable oil instead of diesel can have as low as 6% the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. I find it hard to believe breaking a hydrocarbon doesn't release that much carbon dioxide.

[–] knightly@pawb.social 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They get to subtract out all the carbon captured by the growth of the source plants the biofuel was made from.

[–] sxan@midwest.social 7 points 1 week ago

And probably all of the carbon emitted in the production of diesel, from extraction, to transporting, to refining. Vegetable oil - in guessing, I don't know - is far less polluting.

I didn't read TFA, but if this can use waste vegetable oil, even if with some processing, there's even more savings as you can discount much of the production cost as a dual-use savings.

I'll agree with GP, though, that 6% seems incredibly optimistic.