Pennsylvania company pioneers new crush/biodiesel technology

CO2 replaces Hexane; Claims 14% reduction in cost of producing biofuel
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
By Elwin Green, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A local technology company has received a federal grant of $1.9 million for the development of a biodiesel production process that promises to be cheaper, more efficient and more flexible than processes now used.

Harmarville-based Thar Technologies Inc. received the grant, from the National Institute of Science and Technology, to further its research in using highly pressurized carbon dioxide to extract biodiesel from feedstock.

Thar President and Chief Executive Officer Lalit Chorida said that to date, biodiesel production has been a two-stage process -- first, hexane is used to extract vegetable oil from oilseed, then the vegetable oil is converted to biodiesel.

In Thar's proposed single-stage process, carbon dioxide replaces hexane, a toxic solvent,
Mr. Chordia said that besides being non-polluting, the new process will use 25 percent less energy to produce the same amount of fuel, and will be 14 percent less expensive, a combination of higher efficiency and lower cost that would make biodiesel production economical even without government subsidies.

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