Farm Waste Forms Fuel Tank: Corn Has Dual Role
Researchers have developed carbon briquettes with nanopores that store natural gas at a extremely high density, 180X, and at low pressure, 1/7th of conventional tanks. This research effort is aimed at enabling automobiles to run on methane, an abundant domestic fuel, as a cost-effective alternative to gasoline. National Science Foundation's Partnerships for
Innovation program funded the research project with a $600,000 grant. Corn's role in the alternative fuel economy would range from bioethanol production from corn kernels and natural-gas tanks from corncobs. ... ... "The carbon briquettes contain networks of pores and channels that can hold methane at a high density without the cost of extreme compression, ultimately storing the fuel at a pressure of only 500 pounds per square inch, the pressure found in natural gas pipelines.
In addition to efforts to commercialize the technology, the researchers are now focusing on the next generation briquette, one that will store more natural gas and cost less to produce. Pfeifer believes this next generation of briquette might even hold promise for storing hydrogen. " ...
Via US National Science Foundation, NSF: Farm Waste to Fuel Tanks