Feeling increasingly uncomfortable on this blog, as it seems to be becoming an outlet for the Anti-God Squad, I nevertheless want to share with my friends this interesting news item which I first spotted in the Times of India Health&Science Section, where it was headlined
Cabbage fuel reduces carbon release.This sounded too good to be true, but it corresponds with the claim made in a press release from MTU.
WASHINGTON: Jet fuel's grave carbon emissions can be reduced by about 84 per cent by refining it from the seeds of a lowly weed, which is a cousin to the cabbage, says a Michigan Technological University researcher.
Biofuel for Jets Could Cut Carbon Emissions Over 80 Percent
The seeds of a lowly weed could cut jet fuel’s cradle-to-grave carbon emissions by 84 percent.
. . . . .
Camelina sativa originated in Europe and is a member of the mustard family, along with broccoli, cabbage and canola. Sometimes called false flax or gold-of-pleasure, it thrives in the semi-arid conditions of the Northern Plains; the camelina used in the study was grown in Montana.
The 84% staggered me . . . but are they referring to balance of emissions, so that most of the CO2 is discounted against the amount taken up by the plant as it grew?
It doesn't appear to have been published yet. However, the Latvians are also into growing Camelina for oil:
Grauda D., Lapiņa L., Stramkale V. Rashal I., 2007.
Camelina sativa as a crop for diversification of agriculture and as a producer of high quality oil
Proceedings of the 6th International Scientific and Practical Conference “Environment. Technology. Resources.”, Rēzekne, Latvia, June 20-22, 2007/, Rēzekne, 262-265
And here's a wikipicture of Camelina sativa:
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