Ugly watermelons = ethanol opportunity
America, your apparent hatred for disfigured fruit means we may have a big, untapped biomass source to make ethanol. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Oklahoma has been testing ways to make the simple sugars found in watermelons into ethanol, and the USDA is now reporting some success on that front. Using watermelons to make ethanol is certainly nothing new. The National Watermelon Association began working with the USDA in 2006 to see if the 700-800 million pounds of blemished melons (and late-season melons that are not worth it for big farms to harvest) could find another life as ethanol instead of being plowed back into the ground.
ARS researcher Wayne Fish has found a way to get about 7/10ths of a pound of ethanol from a 20 pound watermelon. While that sounds like a pretty tiny amount, remember that these melons aren't being grown as a biofuel crop; it's just a way to get some oil independence out of leftover melons.
[Source: USDA]
Photo by moreno0101. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris M 4:46PM (5/20/2009)
7/10ths of a pound for 20 pounds of watermelon? They'd better do the ethanol production darn close to the fields, or the shipping costs and fuel required would make it a loosing proposition. Hey, maybe the watermelon farmers should be doing that ethanol production to fuel his own vehicles!
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Brian 5:57PM (5/20/2009)
I'm assuming it's because watermelons are mostly water (hence the clever name).
I wonder if they could find an inexpensive way to smash all that useless water out before they ship to the ethanol plant.
required 6:01PM (5/20/2009)
I think you glossed over the part that said, "...instead of being plowed back into the ground" as in that is what is currently taking place. In other words, waste not want not.
Jon 6:30PM (5/20/2009)
I'm sure they'd be able to increase that amount with further research, as long as someone with deep pockets thinks there is potential.
Snowdog 7:12PM (5/20/2009)
It still might make more sense to plow them under.
Convert that to gallons.
This is 188 lbs to make one gallon.
As Chris stated. You really have to be close to the plant or transportation will cost you more than you get out of this.
Yanquetino 6:05PM (5/20/2009)
Naw... I'd rather see them make juice or fruit rollups out of those watermelons. Now, if they were talking about pumpkins, it might be a different matter. Has anyone noticed how many thousands of them go to waste after October 31? Yeah, pumpkin pie is a tradition at Thanksgiving, and I make a pretty good stew-in-a-pumpkin, but there aren't many consumers who actually enjoy cooking and eating pumpkin. Why let them go to waste?
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Chris M 8:53PM (5/20/2009)
Yea, I've always thought that wasting food for frivolous decorations was kinda silly. Fun, but still silly.
damien 10:48PM (5/20/2009)
If they are plowed into the ground they provide nutrients for next year's crop, for relatively cheap. If that is no longer an option the farmer has to truck in manure, or use chemical fertizers which is more expensive.
What about the food banks that rely on ugly veggies and fruit to feed the poor?
Just offering an alternate opinion.
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Matt 12:57AM (5/21/2009)
I think watermellon wine has been around for a while actually. "If ya drink don't drive, do the watermellon crawl"
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Yikes 12:08PM (5/21/2009)
Why are watermelons so effing expensive in the stores now? Rather that plowing all those melons back into the ground, why not offer them at a reasonable price.
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jpm100 11:28PM (5/25/2009)
They are probably harvested out of the field before its determined they're objectionable.
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