Those of you who love apples and oranges eat all you want! For who knows, in the future they might just be used to make fuel. Scientists say fuel, made from fructose, contains far more energy than ethanol.
University of Wisconsin-Madison chemical and biological engineering Professor James Dumesic and his research team describe a two-stage process for turning biomass-derived sugar into 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF), a liquid transportation fuel.
Fructose can be obtained directly from fruits and plants or made from glucose. By chemically engineering sugar through a series of steps, involving acid and copper catalysts, salt and butanol as a solvent, UW-Madison researchers has created just such a fuel.
Dimethylfuran vs. Ethanol
Not only does dimethylfuran have higher energy content, it also addresses other ethanol shortcomings. DMF is not soluble in water and therefore cannot become contaminated by absorbing water from the atmosphere like ethanol . DMF is stable in storage and, in the evaporation stage of its production, consumes one-third of the energy required to evaporate a solution of ethanol produced by fermentation for biofuel applications
Critics say that the current biofuels, both diesel made from palm oil and ethanol made from corn, encourage farmers to switch land to fuel production, driving up the price of food in the process. I hope that this will not bring scarcity in these fruits which are quite my favorites!
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Source: Science Daily