Air Force researchers discovers how to keep microbes from degrading biodiesel

In Montana, a scientist at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has discovered that special proteins can keep microbes from colonizing inside fuel tanks and degrading the fuels–especially biodiesel. Contamination and degradation is especially problematic for biodiesel, which often contains fatty acid methyl esters that can be metabolized by microbial organisms.

In support of the Air Force’s Technology Transfer Program, TechLink, the Department of Defense’s national partnership intermediary for technology transfer, is helping qualified industry partners review the fuel additive’s commercial potential and understand the patent licensing process that is part and parcel of commercializing government research.