Soybeans and coconuts used to make aviation fuel to power jets

From ANI Washington, Oct 11: Scientists in the US have turned oil from plants like soybeans and coconuts into jet fuel that is equivalent to kerosene derived from oil. According to a report in the Scientific American, working with the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), scientists at the Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota turned these plant oils into fuel that had a similar density, energy content and even freezing point. "It's got a freeze point of -47 degrees Celsius (-52.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Anyone familiar with biodiesel can tell you that's no small feat," said chemical engineer Chad Wocken, EERC environmental technologies research manager. "It's processed so that it contains only the same hydrocarbon molecules present in... [read full story]