Porcine petroleum
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Porcine petroleum (also known as pig crude) is a synthetic crude oil chemically engineered (converted) from pig manure (hog waste). Potentially it could be used as diesel fuel.
A team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign including Professor Yuanhui Zhang, a bio-environmental engineer, discovered a method for converting raw pig manure into a form of crude oil through thermal depolymerization (thermochemical conversion). This process uses heat and pressure to break down carbohydrate materials turning waste into liquid.[1]
With further research, large-scale chemical processing in a refinery-style environment could help the United States process millions of gallons of "pig crude" per day, making the nation much less dependent on foreign sources of oil.
Currently, no research has been conducted to determine how current commercial vehicles could operate on this type of fuel.
References
- ↑ Stefan Lovgren (2004-07-02). "Pig Manure Converted to Crude Oil". National Geographic News. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0701_040702_pigoil.html. Retrieved on 2009-08-28.