All this talk about ethanol from corn, why not citruses?

Citrus peels to run your car? A sweet ethanol fuel is on its way

By: Randy Rauch

Florida's citrus groves may no longer be just for orange juice. Plans have been made to make fuel from citrus peels.

A plant planned in Auburndale will produce ethanol from citrus peels thanks to a $500,000 grant. The plant would begin by using a 10,000 gallon fermenter and some 67,000 pounds of citrus peels per batch, and then upgrading capacity, in the production of ethanol.

The ultimate goal of the project is to design and build a full-scale commercial plant capable of generating 8 million gallons of ethanol a year by using and disposing of 800,000 tons of citrus waste annually.

Florida drivers will use more than 10 billion gallons of gasoline in a year.

The plant will be built on land leased from Cutrale Citrus Juices USA Inc. in Auburndale to produce ethanol from citrus peels. The facility part of the state's "Farm to Fuel" initiative, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson announced on Tuesday.

Source:
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=72300

With the oils in the peels, I think that biodiesel can first be extracted from the peels before they can be fermented to produce ethanol or butanol. It makes the life of yeasts a lot better too when you first remove the oil. I know this, because I've been making wine from citruses. The wine would smell really bad if you ferment together with the peels. The trick is to only add the peels for steeping in the wine long after the active fermentation to impart stronger citrus aroma on the wine. Fermenting oil results in bad tasting or rancid wines, indicating that yeasts aren't happy with it.


So we will gain two fuels, first process is biodiesel, and the next process is ethanol.

Thanks Joe, I have read about ethanol from Florida orange peels before. Two comments: (1) I hate to see Cutrale Citrus Juices USA Inc involved in any manner. Cutrale is NO FRIEND of the Florida citrus growers, nor are they an American company. I don't know who gave the $500,000.00 grant, (unless it was the Cutrale family), but they should have done their homework before choosing Cutrale. (2) In stead of making fuel, use the ethanol to make "whiskey" and the project will generate a lot more profit. LOL - Millet

Millet, it would be superb tasting brandy, but the process has to be modified like I have suggested, instead of biodiesel, you will be extracting the essences first. Generally, distilled spirits from fermented fruits are called brandy. If from fermented grains, they are whiskey. Rums are from molasses and sugar cane, Tequilla from agave, "Lambanog" from coconut sap, "Garapa" from grape skins, and I believe there will be a special term from citrus peels... and soon. But distillation to concentrate alcohol is illegal and a federal violation.

Ethanol is probably a better use for pulp waste than turning it into low grade cattle feed.

I wonder what they'll do with the pulp after it has been fermented?

.....Alan.

My guessy he gas produced would be methane. Is the gas collected and used, or allowed to disapate? Citrus peels are chemically sprayed numerous times during their life in the orchard. It seem difficult to me that the compost could be sold a "organic'. BTW Joe, we all thank you very much for the effort you put forth in bringing us the current news within the citrus industry. - Millet

Below is a BBC online article from a few months ago.

Fruit could make 'powerful fuel'

I do like what Joe is doing also. I really appreciate the
written text to coincide along with the link. Makes me
wish I had done that for some of the now non functional
or changed URL's I've listed in another online forum
format host.

Jim

Joe see this spray program. - Millet

http://www.chem-tox.com/cancerchildren/spraycitrus.htm

I don't know what date the chem-tox people got that list, or indeed, if they may have made it up on their own, but it certainly is not true.

Kelthane was removed from the market due to its trace of DDT that it used to contain, and then was relabeled in the newer, non-DDT form (which we now can use) -- that was at least 10 years ago.

Benlate (they misspell it Benelate) has not been used on any Florida citrus in many years.

Note, too, that they chose Murcott and Grapefruit as their examples. Murcott is horrendously susceptible to citrus scab, so must be sprayed with fungicides frequently to prevent that disease, since we try to sell virtually all of that crop fresh (hence, its peels would not enter the biofuel pathway that is the subject of this thread). Grapefruit, too, is susceptible to scab, melanose, and greasy spot rind blotch, all of which lessen its value for the fresh market, and again, we try to sell as much grapefruit fresh, and as little processed, as possible.

From the website's title, I'd say they have a not-too-hidden agenda, and think it important to point out that no material used on citrus in the US is in any way associated (with data) with any form of human cancer. All such suggestions are unfounded innuendo.

Thank you Dr. Manners. However, I believe just the fact that almost all of the trees are fertilized with chemical fertilizers, instead of manures or whatever, would disqualify the fruit (thus the peel) from being classified as organic, therefore the compost could not be classified as organic. - Millet

Here is an insecticide recomendation by University of Florida IFAS for use on Florida citrus. - Millet

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/CG005