Grounds for optimism

Saturday, April 12, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

A criticism of alternative fuels made from corn, soybeans, sugar and other foods is that their benefits are diminished or even outweighed by other factors.

With the year’s corn crop, for example, being called upon to also satisfy a new demand — fuel production — the supply of corn for food products is decreased, raising prices at the grocery store.

As farmers try to meet both the new and old demands for corn, open space or forested lands are cleared and cultivated. This results in fewer trees to absorb greenhouse gases, less habitat for wildlife, more water use and more harmful emissions from tractors, combines and other farm machinery.

Critics presenting such scenarios are getting a lot of ink and air play these days, leading many people to unfortunately become skeptical about the future of alternative fuels.

A University of Nevada, Reno, professor is offering an answer to this dilemma — use waste material, not food.

Manoranjan Misra, a professor of chemical and metallurgical engineering, has developed a way to remove fatty oil from coffee grounds and convert it to biodiesel. He was assisted by a graduate student and a postdoctoral scholar.

“Our objective is to take waste material and make biodiesel fuel without taking the food from the plate,” Misra told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Misra’s work is an example of why we remain supportive of alternative fuels, despite some of their drawbacks. The weaknesses and pitfalls of any change cannot be known until it is under way. Then adjustments and improvements become inevitable.

A March 12 article posted on a Reno-based Web site (lifemorenatural.com) said Misra is working with two American companies and a Canadian company to produce his version of biodiesel. Misra told the article’s author that he plans to have his process “up and running” by the end of the year.

America is full of creative thinkers. We are confident there are any number of Manoranjan Misras out there capable of ultimately taking the negatives out of alternative fuels.