I'm leaving my melons on the land. Watermelon Juice: The New Fuel?

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Watermelon Juice: The New Fuel?

Michael Reilly, Discovery News

 

Aug. 26, 2009 -- A staple of backyard barbecues and summer time snacks, watermelon is also a promising new source of renewable energy.

According to a new study, leftover watermelons from farms' harvests could be converted into up to 9.4 million liters (2.5 million gallons) of clean, renewable ethanol fuel every year destined for your car, truck, or airplane's gas tank.

Agriculturally, watermelon is a peculiar fruit -- each year farmers across the country leave between 20 and 40 percent of their crop to rot on the ground. These are the ugly ducklings of the lot; though perfectly fine on the inside, the misshapen or blemished melons simply won't sell at the grocery store.

"If a crow lands on a melon, takes two pecks at the rind, and then flies away, it's no good," Wayne Fish of the United States Department of Agriculture in Lane, Oklahoma said. "I had farmers telling me, 'I'm leaving one-fifth of my melons on the land. Is there anything I can do with them?'"

Across the United States, he estimated that 360,000 tons of watermelons spoil in fields every year.

Some local growers wondered whether the waste melons could be turned into ethanol, the clean-burning fuel derived from plant sugars. In a series of new experiments published yesterday in the journalBiotechnology for Biofuels, Fish and a team of researchers showed that they can.

What's more, watermelon juice may turn out to be the perfect way to optimize industrial-scale production of ethanol from corn, molasses and sugar cane.

Watermelon juice is about 10 percent sugar by volume, about half the concentration that manufacturers consider right for producing ethanol. But it's chock full of amino acids that provide a crucial source of nitrogen for yeast to feed on during fermentation.

On its own, the team calculated they could make about 2.5 million gallons of ethanol each year from waste melons, a drop in the bucket of an industry that last year produced 9 billion gallons from corn and other feedstock in the United States alone.

But both corn and molasses require lots of water, and sometimes nitrogen supplements to prepare for fermentation. The team suggests that watermelon juice from reject melons could drastically cut down on water usage, supply needed nitrogen, and even add some sugar to the mix, cutting the amount of corn or molasses by up to 15 percent.

"This is not going to replace corn. In that sense it will remain a niche source of biofuel," said Jim Rausch, president of the College Station, Texas-based company Common Sense Agriculture, LLC, which is developing a prototype watermelon juice-to-ethanol processing plant.

"But unlike algae biodiesel or cellulosic ethanol, it's a right now thing. There's no new technology that needs to be developed to make it economical."

how ironic--i guess i can get married In Iowa

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I made the comment on my latest blog Marriage: "i'm so glad i can't get married yet" i guess some in Iowa thought they'd show me! Sure enough homosexuals arenow allowed to marry in Iowa.

This article was sent to me by a very awesome young lady i'd like to share it with YOU!

"La
An interesting article.. I really like the way Iowa is approaching this issue. Finally, someone is actually understanding what the constitution of the United States is SUPPOSE to do.

Peace,
-Jamie"

"In Iowa Gay Marriage Ruling, Truth is the Winner

By Peter Montgomery
April 4, 2009

A new report shows that when Americans are assured that clergy aren't required to perform same-sex marriages an interesting thing happens.

Celebration in Iowa, near the capitol.

Religious Right leaders have consistently tried to build opposition to marriage equality by portraying marriage equality and religious liberty as incompatible. People For the American Way Foundation’s recent Right Wing Watch In Focus report documented the deceptive ways that Religious Right leaders blur the distinction between civil and religious marriage.

There’s power to the religious liberty argument—on the marriage equality side, that is. Two polls cited in the PFAWF report show that, when Americans who don’t initially support allowing same-sex couples to get married are asked a followup—“If the law guaranteed that no church or congregation would be required to perform marriages for same-sex couples, I would support allowing gay couples to legally marry,” support for marriage equality jumps a remarkable 12 to 14 percent. There’s a lot of public support to be gained by debunking the Religious Right on this front.

That’s why it was especially gratifying that the Iowa Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling devoted considerable space to dealing respectfully with religious objections to same-sex marriage and explaining clearly why religious beliefs about marriage cannot override the constitutional principle of equality when it comes to civil marriage. Here’s the concluding portion of the Court’s section on religion:

In the final analysis, we give respect to the views of all Iowans on the issue of same-sex marriage—religious or otherwise—by giving respect to our constitutional principles. These principles require that the state recognize both opposite-sex and same-sex civil marriage. Religious doctrine and views contrary to this principle of law are unaffected, and people can continue to associate with the religion that best reflects their views. A religious denomination can still define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and a marriage ceremony performed by a minister, priest, rabbi, or other person ordained or designated as a leader of the person’s religious faith does not lose its meaning as a sacrament or other religious institution. The sanctity of all religious marriages celebrated in the future will have the same meaning as those celebrated in the past. The only difference is civil marriage will now take on a new meaning that reflects a more complete understanding of equal protection of the law. This result is what our constitution requires.

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If every state...well the conservative states, approached gay marriage in this non secular light more people would accept this idea. Even for me. I never understood how people can be sooo passionate against preventing love between two people. But to "clear it[gay marriage]" of religious connections to redneck churc..i mean conservative churches you essentially break down all arguments against gay marriage. THe only legit arguments left are for people are are hell bent on believe that homosexual is a "sickness" (thats a reference to Mr. Haggard.)
Cheers to all, i bet the rainbows are a flyin high!

Thanks Jamie!