Prawnzy Scheme: Shrimp Cells Make Biofuel

Many happy motorists who have converted their vehicles to biodiesel report that their rides smell of french fries and other foods cooked in the oil subsequently made into fuel. Serving up a tasty breakthrough, a team of Chinese chemists has one more delicious ingredient to add to the mix: shrimp.

The transformation of something such as spent cooking grease into fuel involves a process called transesterification. Here, alcohol and a catalytic agent are added to chemically transform the oil into something usable as fuel.

Writing in LiveScience, Charles Q. Choi announces that a group of chemists working in China have developed a new catalyst from the cells of shrimp shells. Initial results are promising, as the new catalyst demonstrates a very high rate of oil-to-fuel conversion, appears to work faster than currently used catalysts, and further, is reusable.

While things have gone so swimmingly in turning shrimp shell cells into an effective biofuel catalyst, no word has come back so far regarding what transformation awaits the cocktail sauce.

Photo courtesy of U.S. National Cancer Institute.