The 'easyJet ecoJet' would emit 50 percent less CO2 than today's newest ...
Thursday April 13, 2006
More Images...
![]()
April 12, 2006
Image of the Day: A Frog's-Eye View![]()
April 11, 2006
Image of the Day: Coral Archipelago
As gasoline prices continue to climb, people have started searching for a cheaper way to fill up their gas tank. Hybrid cars get all the press, but the newest rage might be fuel from orange and lemon peels.
Scientists for the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have improved on the method for converting dried citrus peel waste in the ethanol fuel. Citrus waste is rich in pectin, cellulose, and polysaccharides, which can be turned into sugars and fermented into alcohol.
The work was started by ARS researchers in 1992, but was expensive and inefficient, working in batches of just a gallon or so. In 2004, ARS chemist Bill Widmer modified the technique to work on the 1,000-gallon level. The process now shows economic promise and a 10,000-gallon facility is currently under construction.
Florida alone creates a total of 1.2 million tons of dried peel residue annually, which is currently sold as cattle feed. With further research, Widmer said, Florida's citrus waste could yield up to 80 million gallons of ethanol per year.
Amazing Images: Science & Nature Photos from Our Readers
Tipping Point: Half of America Wants a Hybrid Car
The Mysterious Origin and Supply of Oil
Experimental Hybrid Cars Get Up to 250 Mpg
Ethanol Fuel More Advantageous Than Thought
Credit: Bill Widmer
Most Popular
- Recommended
- Commented
From the Blogs

- LiveScience Blogs
-
- Can A Computer Simulation Solve The Mystery Of Dark Matter?
- Modern Gossip Magazine Culture Began With Celebrity Obituaries
- 12,000 Year Old Shaman Burial Site Discovered In Northern Israel - And It Was A Woman
- Learning About Lightning - Interferometer Records Discharge In Detail To The Microsecond
- India To The Moon: Chandrayaan-1 Settles Into Lunar Transfer Trajectory
- Those Dang Transcription Factors
- Pretty Women Make Men Shortsighted
- Can A Computer Simulation Solve The Mystery Of Dark Matter?
- 10.30.2008 | Leonard David
Private Moon Lander Group Teams with NASA
Keep an eye out for Odyssey Moon Ventures — one of the contenders in the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize competition — to announce they... ... - 10.25.2008 | Leonard David
Armadillo Scraps Further Lunar Lander Challenge Attempts
Update 7: The Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge is over for the day. John Carmack and his Armadillo Aerospace team have declared no more... ...
- 10.30.2008 | Leonard David
Related Items from the LiveScience Store
-
Ultimate 400x Digital Microscope $139.95
-
Eclipse Professional Compass $61.95




