By Kris Bevill
Seventy-five percent of U.S. oranges are grown in Florida. The Sunshine States citrus processing industry produces nearly all of the orange juice consumed in the country, resulting in up to 5 million tons of citrus waste each year. Options for turning that waste into something useful are limited, so the possibility of using citrus waste as a feedstock for ethanol plants is being closely monitored.
Americans love oranges. According to the USDA, the fruit consistently ranks third among the nations favorite fresh fruits and its the No. 1 fruit juice. Americans consume two-and-a-half-times more orange juice than apple juice, making juice production a huge industry for Florida citrus processors. But before you drink that next glass of OJ, consider that half of the orange used to make that juice becomes waste material. In fact, the Florida citrus industry produces 3.5 million to 5 million tons of citrus waste every year. Which begs the question: What possibilities are being explored to turn that waste into something useful, and whos brave enough to try?
Bill Widmer, a research chemist at the USDA Agricultural Research Services Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory in Winter Haven, Fla., has been working on the conversion of citrus peels to ethanol the past four years...
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