U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Lab creates nanoparticle for green diesel

May 13, 2014 | Meghan Sapp

In Washington, The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has developed a faster, cleaner refining technology to combine processes and reduce costs for producing biofuel. Ames Laboratory scientists have created a nanoparticle that can perform two processing functions simultaneously to produce green diesel from algae. Instead of reacting fats and oils with alcohols to produce traditional biodiesel, the nanopartical-produced green diesel is more stable and has a higher energy density.