Fill 'er up ... with crambe?

Honestly, our heads have been spinning enough already with all the potential biofuel sources: corn, corn stover, wood chips, telephone poles, algae, jatropha. You name it, we thought we’ve heard of it.

Then, along comes crambe.

This humble crop, an oilseed plant native to the Mediterranean, is one of several potential biofuel crops being studied by the Energy & Environmental Research Centre at the University of North Dakota. The centre has allocated $1 million (US) to evaluate renewable oil refining technologies that could be used to produce diesel, jet and other fuels.

Why crambe? Why not? The centre notes that the plant is not only drought-tolerant and proven to grow in North Dakota, but costs less than other biofuel crops to plant, fertilise and grow. It also produces an industrial-grade (rather than food-grade) oil, unlike soybeans, canola and other oil-seed crops.

(Hat tip to CleanTechnica.)