Monday, July 23, 2007

Knock, Knock - Orange You Glad We Now Have E85?

What do you get when you unravel the orange peel pictured above? A renewable fuel resource, that’s what! Image Credit: Worth 1000

Knock, Knock - Orange You Glad We Now Have E85?

Yes, this is a new take on that old “Knock, Knock” joke … but the outcome of this exchange holds great promise.

One of the biggest limitations found with the creation of Ethanol come from the type of matter the liquid is processed or converted from. When one uses food substances like corn or sugar cane, this puts additional stress on some segments of our economic society. The costs of everything associated with corn (for example) shoot up because the supply becomes restricted due to the increased demand, all the while, our landfills are burying perfectly good fodder for the Ethanol mill!

Take this item about Orange Peels … that’s right, the stuff that is being carted off to a landfill to take up additional space along with twigs, lawn clippings, and waste cardboard.

At MAXINE, we say convert it all!

This from the National Association of Convenience Stores -

Citrus-Powered Ethanol?
NACS News & Media Center - July 23, 2007

MIAMI – Florida oranges might not just fuel consumers anymore – the citrus fruit might help fuel cars, the Miami Herald reports. FPL Energy revealed plans to work with a citrus processor and a new energy firm to build one of the world’s first processing plants that would use citrus peels as the base for ethanol.

If built during the next two years, the plant could output approximately 4 million gallons of ethanol. On day, the technology could produce as much as 60 million citrus-to-ethanol gallons, a mere fraction of the 8.7 billion gallons of gasoline consumed in the Florida.

“The idea is we would have the land produce both our food and our fuel,” David Stewart, president of Citrus Energy, told the newspaper. Citrus Energy will assist FPL in constructing the plant with approximately $3 million in state financial aid. “We’re turning a liability for the citrus industry into an asset.”

Citrus peel more easily converts into ethanol than corn and, since it uses a waste product, doesn’t use food for fuel, Stewart said.
Share your opinion on this story with NACS

Gov. Charlie Crist praised FPL for looking into alternative fuels. In 2006, Florida produced approximately 110 million 90-pound boxes of oranges.
Reference Here>>

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