SBIR Phase I:Validation and multimedia assesment of novel biofuel

This SBIR Phase I project will employ ethyl ethoxybutyrate as a fuel source and to determine the potential impact of this chemical on the environment. The fuel source uses low value renewable feedstock and a mixed culture of bacteria to supply the reactants. The oxygen content in the fuel makes it competitive with ethanol. The project will outline the quantitative analysis of combustion properties using a dynamometer and exhaust emission analysis. In addition, the impact this chemical has on the environment will be analyzed. The data will be used to estimate its persistence and fate in the environment. The broader/commercial impact of the project will be to use low value materials from a wastewater treatment plant and agricultural bio-solids as a potential source of chemical feedstocks. This in turn, decreases solid waste from a wastewater treatment plant and agricultural operations.