First Dedicated Biorefinery Could Wean Hawaii Off Imported Oil
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 - 06:30
in Physics & Chemistry
On former pineapple fields outside of Honolulu, an industrial tube has been erected, ensconced in a steel scaffold. Dwarfed by the nearby oil refinery, the modest tube represents an attempt to one day wean Hawaii from imported oil . It is the nation's first dedicated biorefinery, employing high heat to turn plant matter into oil, followed by chemical catalysis to upgrade that oil into a useable fuel, just like the much larger refinery down the road. [More]