Japanese Graduate Students Produce Biofuel from Tangerines

Graduate students at Mie University in Japan have produced biofuel from tangerines. They believe it could be used as renewable energy. Researchers plan to market the technology in a few years. The researchers believe the biobutanol could be used to fuel agricultural equipment and to heat greenhouses. 

The southern part of Mie Prefecture is a major center of cultivation for mandarin oranges and around 150 tons of harvest is discarded every year. The researchers were able to produce about 20 milliliters of biobutanol from 3 kg of tangerine. The team proved that the product was viable as a fuel after testing it in an 80-cm radio-controlled vehicle.

Researchers have previously produced ethanol from squeezed mandarin orange extract. However, butanol is more efficient as its properties are similar to gasoline.