According to recent reports announced on the 22nd at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (more commonly known as the ACS) the same processed used for the picture generation in big-screen plasma televisions is being applied to biofuel generation processes as well. The device operating at the center of this method is known as a GlidArc reactor, a relatively inexpensive construct roughly the size of a refrigerator that can be made primarily from parts found at a local hardware store and can produce in three steps super-clean fuels by utilizing electrically-charged gas clouds for chemical processing.

The reactor works by cleaning gases produced by the gasification of waste products to remove excess molecules and aid in the formation of liquids or other fuel products, such as a diesel-like product that can be burned in standard diesel engines and produce roughly 10 times fewer pollutants than conventional petroleum based diesel. The electrically charged clouds working within the reactor (the same technology used in plasma televisions) allow for reactions to take place at significantly lower temperatures than are found normally and this significantly increase fuel production capabilities.

The primary factors that are seen as the benefits of such a reactor are cost, versatility and efficiency. Because all of the parts necessary to build the reactor are relatively inexpensive compared to other high-tech devices a basic reactor can be built for roughly $10,000 and the fuel products it can produce from various waste material can be harvested relatively easily and then used almost immediately in most conventional engines or mixed with other fuels to improve the base fuel’s efficiency. The reactor also allows for many of the waste products of other biofuel production such as glycerol from corn ethanol production to be easily converted into fuel as well – a process that would normally be costly to consider otherwise.

While the GlidArc reactor may not be considered a truly “green” energy source due to the fact its fuel products still have some carbon emissions all fuel generated from the reactor burns significantly cleaner than pure fuels being combusted on their own. Though this is not a perfect solution to carbon emissions the cleaner energy is still a major step forward in the need for both clean and renewable fuel sources to supplement our current energy needs throughout the world.

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