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How much mileage do you get from sawdust?

June 24th, 2011

As vacationers gas up to hit the road this summer, they could find themselves wondering about alternative fuels and their potential to ease the strain on pocketbooks and the environment.

Imagine filling up your vehicle with fuel derived from sawdust or straw. Researchers at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering are developing new and more efficient ways to produce biofuel from the non-edible parts of plants - such as the straw from flax, barley and wheat - instead of food crops.

Researchers in the Bio Energy Laboratory will demonstrate the process of extracting bio oil from sawdust using a pyrolysis reactor, which operates at a temperature of about 500°C.

Media contact:
Jennifer Sowa, Schulich School of Engineering
Mobile: 403.993.8679
Email: jsowa@ucalgary.ca

Provided by University of Calgary

Citation: How much mileage do you get from sawdust? (2011, June 24) retrieved 12 August 2026 from https://sciencex.com/wire-news/70361710/how-much-mileage-do-you-get-from-sawdust.html

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