Photo: Bidyut Das | Pixabay
Besides serving as a popular condiment, mustard could become a fuel source for airplanes the future. Researchers from the Southeast Partnership for Advanced Renewables from Carinata (SPARC) project found a method to process the mustard plant Brassica carinata into fuel, which can enable a sixty-eight percent reduction in carbon emissions. The team dedicated four years toward investigating the growth of the plant in the southeastern regions of the United States. "In the South, we can grow carinata as a winter crop because our winters are not as severe compared to other regions of the country," says Puneet Dwivedi, the lead scientist on the project. The mustard plant also grows during the 'off' season and so does not crowd out food crops. The main constraint, however, is finding a means to crush and process the plant into aviation fuel.
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