Fuel from a new fruit
Forget corn and soyabeans, a new source of biofuels may leave producers salivating.
Sub-standard watermelon is being eyed as a potential feedstock owing to its high sugar content and the fact it can be readily distilled into alcohol to power cars and farm machinery.
The news that retailers reject 360,000 tons of sub-standard fruit annually in the US alone provides the future of biofuels with a fruity option.
The waste from US growers could produce nearly 2 million gallons (nine million litres) of biofuel per year.
In the study, researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) set out to determine the biofuel potential of juice from ‘cull’ watermelons – those not sold due to cosmetic imperfections, and currently ploughed back into the field.
About a fifth of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen.
The team found that 50% of the fruit was fermentable into ethanol which could provide valuable fuel.
It also finds watermelons could produce around 20 gallons of fuel per acre from fruit that otherwise would go to waste.
Sub-standard watermelon is being eyed as a potential feedstock owing to its high sugar content and the fact it can be readily distilled into alcohol to power cars and farm machinery.
The news that retailers reject 360,000 tons of sub-standard fruit annually in the US alone provides the future of biofuels with a fruity option.
The waste from US growers could produce nearly 2 million gallons (nine million litres) of biofuel per year.
In the study, researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) set out to determine the biofuel potential of juice from ‘cull’ watermelons – those not sold due to cosmetic imperfections, and currently ploughed back into the field.
About a fifth of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen.
The team found that 50% of the fruit was fermentable into ethanol which could provide valuable fuel.
It also finds watermelons could produce around 20 gallons of fuel per acre from fruit that otherwise would go to waste.
Loading ...
