Laigret launch of Project: From the inexhaustible and green oil obtained by fermentation September 11, 2008
Here is the copy / paste of the newsletter sent to members of the Econologie.com site you can read it in its original form here
Éconologues dear, dear éconologues,
This special email, sent to the 23000 members of the econologie.com community, is a first which aims to unite a few people around a concrete project: trying to manufacture oil from biomass in an "original biological" way but currently unexploited. As this working group is based on experiments carried out by Doctor Laigret, we have decided to name this working group " Laigret project"
Who is Dr. Laigret ??
Dr. Laigret was a member of the Pasteur Institute of Tunis in the 40-50 years. Recognized by his peers, he specialized in microbiology and virology, he participated in the development of a vaccine against yellow fever for example.
What is the method of Dr. Laigret ??
This is a BTL (Biomass To Liquid) process. The BTL Laigret creates crude oil from the fermentation (biological process) of biomass.
Thus, in experiments conducted in the 40 years (see biography on the Institut Pasteur website) on a pathogen responsible for gangrene, he managed to produce a methanization of organic matter and especially he managed to produce liquid oil from soap. Crude oil is very innovative compared to other experienced or industrial BTL processes.
It seems that he pushed his studies on other organic materials such as sewage sludge, agricultural waste… with good results. This work was the subject of 2 reports at the Academy of Sciences, available here, and an article in S&V in 1949.
His work then fell into oblivion ... but the process seems very topical to us and this is why we would like to launch a private experiment in order to check whether his observations can be used.
For more details on the man and his experiences, we suggest you read the articles and documents we have gathered on the following news.
A working group to resume the work of Laigret? To do what ?
Firstly, it is unfortunate that these studies have fallen into oblivion without anyone knowing whether an industrialization of the process is possible, without it being known whether the oil produced is of sufficient quality to be refined and reused. Secondly, we know that it is difficult to motivate public authorities and / or manufacturers without giving them a minimum of quantified data and results. So we decided to take charge of conducting a private experiment accessible to all!
Through this working group, we want:
- resume the studies of Dr Laigret in order to reproduce his experiments,
- if the results are convincing, determine which are the most suitable substrates for mass production,
- control the quality of the crude, therefore assess its market value and especially its potential to replace traditional oil,
Very ambitious program for individuals, some say, they will be right, that's why we need you, your skills, your knowledge, your equipment ... in short, your motivation!
How to help the working group?
As you will have understood, this working group aims to work on the long term. He needs different and varied skills so that everyone can save the group time and energy.
The main skills that we would need today are the following profiles:
- biologists to help us with the very heart of the project,
- biochemists for the same reasons (catalyst),
- petroleum engineers and technicians for the analysis of the ferment,
- journalists, bloggers or webmasters to disseminate information,
- researchers or students interested in the project who can carry out bibliographic research,
- ideally an employee of the Institut Pasteur or a researcher in order to easily retrieve the writings of Doctor Laigret (which are archived there),
- all the goodwill possible because it is by sharing our ideas and our experiences that this project will move forward.
If you are interested, follow this link: Laigret project.
The more of us there are, the easier the progress of the project will be.
We are convinced that this project can go to the end if there are enough of us.
We are not starting from scratch, the studies carried out in 1947 were carried out by a well-known and recognized scientist at an equally prestigious institute. We want to build on this heritage to launch this project with the main goal of showing that a solution exists.
We thank you now for the time that you have been kind enough to devote to us, take the time to read the few links we have put on this mail.
Once again, do not hesitate to contact us if you want to join us or simply if you have questions.
best regard
Ludovic, engineer ESAIP SEP, head of the working group Laigret project«
Christophe, engineer ENSAIS, founder of the site Econologie.com
Learn more or participate:
- Participate in the group (as an observer or actor): Laigret project
- Discussion on forums, with summary article and bibliography renewable oil
- Summary ofScience and Life article from 1949
- Download the full article
- Another article: the origin of petroleum discovered by Dr Laigret