From Wales, a box to make biofuel from car fumes

Queensferry, Wales — The world’s richest corporations and finest minds spend billions trying to solve the problem of carbon emissions, but three fishing buddies in North Wales believe they have cracked it.

They have developed a box which they say can be fixed underneath a car in place of the exhaust to trap the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming — including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide — and emit mostly water vapor.

The captured gases can be processed to create a biofuel using genetically modified algae.

Dubbed "Greenbox," the technology developed by organic chemist Derek Palmer and engineers Ian Houston and John Jones could, they say, be used for cars, buses, trucks and eventually buildings and heavy industry, including power plants. The only emissions they are not sure their box can handle are those from aviation.

"We’ve managed to develop a way to successfully capture a majority of the emissions from the dirtiest motor we could find," Mr. Palmer, who has consulted for organizations including the World Health Organization and GlaxoSmithKline, told Reuters.

From fish to cars

The three, who stumbled across the idea while experimenting with carbon dioxide to help boost algae growth for fish farming, have set up a company called Maes Anturio Limited, which translates from Welsh as Field Adventure.

With the backing of their local member of parliament, they are now seeking extra risk capital either from government or industry.

Although the box the men currently use for demonstration is about the size of a bar stool, they say they can build one small enough to replace a car exhaust that will last for a full tank of gas.

The crucial aspect of the technology is that the carbon dioxide is captured and held in a secure state, said Mr. Houston.

"The carbon dioxide, held in its safe, inert state, can be handled, transported and released into a controlled environment with ease and a minimal amount of energy required," Mr. Houston said at a demonstration using a diesel-powered generator at a certified UK Ministry of Transportation emissions test center.

More than 130 tests carried out over two years at several testing centers have, the three say, yielded a capture rate between 85% and 95%. They showed the box to David Hansen, a Labor MP for Delyn, North Wales, who is now helping them.

"Based on the information, there is a clear reduction in emissions," Mr. Hansen told Reuters.

Process

If the system takes off, drivers with a Greenbox could replace it when they fill up their cars and it would go to a bioreactor to be emptied.

Through a chemical reaction, the captured gases from the box would be fed to algae, which would then be crushed to produce a bio-oil. This extract could then be converted to produce a biodiesel almost identical to normal diesel.

This biodiesel can be fed back into a diesel engine, the emptied Greenbox can be affixed to the car and the cycle can begin again.


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From Wales, a box to make biofuel from car fumes