Scientists from the Department of Chemistry and the Bioenergy Research Group at the University of California Davis (United States) have developed a biodiesel production process which maximizes the use of the whole oilseed for biodiesel production. Conventional biodiesel production usually involves the (mechanical or chemical) extraction of the oil (the "lipid" component) from the seed, and then converting the oil into biodiesel by a process called, "transesterification". The carbohydrate (cellulosic) residue of the oilseed (after oil extraction) is often discarded. The patented process developed by Mark Mascal and Edward B. Nikitin utilizes both the oil and residue of the seeds by reacting them with aqueous hydrochloric acid and 1,2-dichloroethane in a biphasic reactor, and heating the mixture to 80°C for 3 hours. The seed oil is released intact, while the cellulosic portion of the seed is converted into a compound called 5-(chloromethyl) furfural (CMF). The oil-CMF mixture can then be subjected to another process called, "ethanolysis" to give a "hybrid biodiesel cocktail" of ethyl levulinate (a levulinic acid ethyl ester) and biodiesel ethyl ester . "Levulinate esters are short-chain oxygenates, which can be blended with diesel fuel and may improve its cold-performance properties". The results of the research are published in the Energy and Fuels journal..