A new study from the United Kingdom shows that in the process of using wood to make biofuels, adding an ionic liquid as a lubricant when comminuting wood can significantly reduce the energy costs consumed by this process. Its end product, bioethanol The price is expected to decrease by 10%.

The ionic liquid is a salt solution composed entirely of anions and cations, and different types of ionic liquids can be obtained by changing the combination of anions and cations.

Researchers at the British Imperial College and other institutions reported in the new issue of the British journal Green Chemistry that when wood is used to make biofuel, the wood needs to be crushed into very small particles. This process consumes a lot of traditional energy. It is estimated that each crushed 1 ton of wood now consumes about 8 pounds (1 pound worth about $1.6) of energy.

This study found that if an ionic liquid is added during the comminution process, the amount of energy consumed in this process can be reduced by 80%, and the energy cost per metric ton of wood consumed can be reduced to approximately £1.6. Researcher Aniska Brant said that ionic liquids play a major role in the smashing of wood and that the energy that it can help saves researchers.

The data provided by the study shows that if such a cost-saving in the biofuels industry chain would result in a price drop of 0.03 pounds per liter of bioethanol, the current price of bioethanol is approximately 0.3 pounds per liter.