Mie Grad Students Make Biofuel from Unwanted Fruit

(Japan Times) Graduate students at Mie University have produced biofuel from the region’s tangerines, saying the technique provides a use for unwanted fruit. They believe it could be promoted as a locally sourced form of renewable energy.

The researchers at the university’s Graduate School of Bioresources fermented rotten and unsold fruit, and plan to market the technique in the next two or three years.

The southern part of Mie Prefecture is a major center of cultivation for mandarin oranges.

JA Mie Nanki, which represents the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives group in the prefecture, says around 150 tons of harvest is thrown away every year in Mihama, where the group is based, and neighboring Kumano. Two-thirds end up being incinerated, which costs about ¥2.5 million.

The researchers produced about 20 milliliters of biobutanol from 3 kg of tangerine waste by adding bacteria and letting the mixture ferment for about 10 days.

“The high sugar content of fruit means it is energy-efficient,” Yoshii said, adding that in the future the group will attempt to produce biofuel from other fermented fruit, including discarded apples. READ MORE