Muscat: Zumurrud al Siyabi's project to extract biofuel from mushrooms has won the first prize in the engineering forum held at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat recently. Her project was among 48 entries from various Arab countries. Al Siyabi stated that the project aims to find clean alternatives to fossil fuels, and to keep the environment free of harmful carbon emissions. Al Siyabi also clarified that biofuel is an excellent option to reduce carbon emissions and can be used in cars, airplanes and power stations. Through the experiments she did and the devices she used at the College of Agriculture at Sultan Qaboos University, she found out that the biofuel extracted from mushrooms matches the international specifications for biofuels. The percentage of fuel extracted and recovered was about 25 per cent.
Al Siyabi said she’s currently working on increasing the percentage of fuel extracted using bacteria. The research is also focussing on developing new fungal strains that help increase the biofuel output.
Furthermore, Al Siyabi explained that the project will improve biofuel production procedure using more effective and sustainable technology, and expanding the usage of the mushroom as a source for biofuel in various areas such as transportation and energy.
It is worth mentioning that renewable energy is one of the promising energy sources in the Sultanate of Oman.
Oman Vision 2040 focuses on developing non-traditional sources from natural resources, and transitioning towards a green economy.
Oman is aiming to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 through an ambitious national plan. Net zero is the process through which greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere are balanced by those being taken out of it.
The Paris COP21 agreement, signed by 192 countries including Oman, requires states to “achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century”.
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