Picture: This picture shows a watermelon that can be used in the process to make this bio-fuel ethanol.
Summary: The article talk about how all left over watermelons can be used as a bio-fuel ethanol. About a fifth of all watermelons are rejected by people because of odd shapes scars that turn off the consumers. Farmers just leave this fruit on the vine, and a field of all these leftovers is about 80 to 100 tons an acre of just watermelon. A chemist and some of his colleagues from the Agricultural Research Service in Lane, Oklahoma were experimenting with extracting antioxidant compounds from watermelon juice, they realized the waste stream of sugary fluids could be a source of ethanol. They found out that from an acre of water melon juice they produced 23 gallons, now most average-sized farmers have about 300 to 1000 acres and they might as well keep it for them selves to use for production. Although farmers with larger farms could produce enough to sell. However it doesn't make sense to haul the watermelons to get processed at a facility, rather it be processes on mobile breweries that goes from farm to farm.
Opinion: I think that the idea of using the left over watermelons in a field and extracting the juices to make a bio-fuel ethanol is a pretty cool idea. If this could be another way to take gas out of the equation then i'm for it because the longer we use gas the less fossil fuels we have, and when we run out of fossil fuels it will take millions of years for them to be produced again. The sooner we can get started, I think the better.
Questions:
1. If this new bio-fuel ethanol came to the market would you use it in your vehicle? Why or why not?
2. What do you think of the idea of using left over watermelons for a substitute fuel?
3. Do you think people will convert from gas to this bio-fuel ethanol after growing up using gas their whole life? Why or why not?
opinion: I feel that this a very creative way to recycle gas. However, with all this creativity,comes a cost. If this watermelon juice stuff actually will work to complete daily tasks, its gonna cost alot of money. for example, the hybrid car was a very nice way to recycle, however it is very expensive.
ReplyDeleteQQuestion 2: If this type of ethanol came to the market, i would not buy this t is a very good idea, but like i said, i would rather pay less for a reliable gas. just a thought
yayyay
Opinion: I agree with Marc that this is a cool idea. I dont think it will work because watermelons don't grow overnight so an acre for 23 gallons is like an acre for every car. Since there would be a high demand for this type of fuel and not alot of supply that would mean very expensive watermelon fuel. So I do not belive that this will work.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 2: I think that using watermelons for fuel is a bad idea because there is not enough watermelons to meet the demands of all the people who need them.
This is a really cool way to recycle, but I agree with Marc. This is a really expensive way to recycle. This could be a another answer for saving gas, and to reduce the usage of fossil fuels, but not everybody will be able to afford it.
ReplyDeleteQuestion # 1. If it did come to the market. I would, but that depends if I had the money. Like I said this a very expensive idea, and some people might not be up for it right now.
Question1: Yes I would used it if it was inexpensive but by hearing 1 acre for 23 gallons of fuel I doubt it will be cheap. But overall the is a great discovery and hopefully its another step in the right direction.
ReplyDelete