Tiny Reactor Boosts Biodiesel Production

A tiny chemical reactor that can convert vegetable oil directly into biodiesel could help farmers turn some of their crops into homegrown fuel to operate agricultural equipment instead of relying on costly imported oil.

The device - about the size of a credit card - pumps vegetable oil and alcohol through tiny parallel channels, each smaller than a human hair, to convert the oil into biodiesel almost instantly.

"This is all about producing energy in such a way that it liberates people," - Goran Jovanovic, a chemical engineering professor at Oregon State University

"Distributed energy production means you can use local resources -- farmers can produce all the energy they need from what they grow on their own farms," - Goran Jovanovic