Japanese scientists may have found a cheap fuel

The renewable, vegetable oil-based fuel can be used in conventional diesel engines, which are found in about 2 percent of cars currently sold in the U.S. and in about 40 percent in Europe. Any vegetable oil can become fuel, but not until its fatty acids are converted to chemical compounds known as esters.

The breakthrough could provide cost savings on a massive scale, because the technique could fairly easily make the transition from the lab to the refinery—if interest warrants.
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