Ok, we know that technically any plant product can be made into ethanol. But the list of plant biomass that researchers are actively working on converting to ethanol is getting pretty long as well. We have the obvious ones - corn and soybeans - but also poplar trees, grapes, citrus fruit and now, watermelons.

The National Watermelon Association (c'mon, you knew there was a NWA, right? It's only been around since 1914) announced it will begin research with the USDA, the University of Georgia and an ethanol plant in Florida so that the estimated 700 million pounds of watermelons that are wasted each year can be used for ethanol production.

This story says that the each year about 20-25 percent of the nation's watermelon crop is left on the ground. This is because there comes a time when harvesting the few ripe melons left in the fields is not profitable. Also, visually blemished melons are left to rot. If we can use watermelons to power felx-fuel cars, will spitting seeds out the tail pipe become the new American summer game?

Related:

• Australia may use grape, olive and citrus waste to make biodiesel
• Makin' ethanol from the old poplar tree
• "Huge" potential for alternative fuels in Florida

[Source: Domestic Fuel]

If you – like me – are still learning lots about the ethanol scene, then Bill Kovarik has got some information for you (us). Twenty-five years ago Kovarik wrote a book about the history of ethanol called Forbidden Fuel, and he is currently working on an updated version. Kovarik was willingly caught on tape by Cindy over at Domestic Fuel for an interview recently. Kovarik is passionate (as you can see over at his website) about getting the facts of leaded gasoline vs. ethyl alcohol gasoline out. His site includes Ten Myths about Leaded Gasoline, links to a 2000 cover story on leaded fuel in The Nation, and Kovarik's academic work on topics like "The 1920s Environmental Conflict Over Leaded Gasoline and Alternative Fuels" and "Sixty Years of Tetraethyllead. How the Best Known Poison on Earth Remained in the Gasoline Supply for Sixty Years". Worth checking out.

[Source: Domestic Fuel]

Xethanol is set to increase their production of ethanol in six states in New England: Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont. The corporation has set up NewEnglandXethanol LLC, a “strategic alliance” between Xethanol and Global Energy Management LLC, according to a press release pointed at by Domestic Fuel. This announcement follows Xethanol’s previous announcement of their CoastalXethanol initiative, which will increase ethanol production in the Southeastern U.S.

DF also points to a second press release by Xethanol that says the company is looking to include biodiesel in its portfolio through managing the business of H2Diesel, a company that licenses its proprietary biodiesel conversion technology that “simplifies the production of biodiesel from vegetable oils including waste oils”.

[Source: Yahoo! via Domestic Fuel]

Cindy over at Domestic Fuel lets rip a little bit of a rant, and it’s good that she did. Her anger or frustration at the “all hat no cattle” public personas of our supposed leaders on sustainability issues is warranted and timely, what with Hastert’s recent fake photo op (is that redundant?). I agree that one of the keys to solving this mess we’re in (and yes, we’re in a mess) is to simply use less and enjoy more. I saw a sign – perhaps by some group like the Ad Council – that suggested people replace the Sunday drive with the Sunday walk. That’s the kind of common sense advice that can really make a difference.
If you want to read more details of how Washington DC is full of phonies, here’s the news. [Source: Seattle Times, via Domestic Fuel]

In a good news, bad news sort of story, the USDA announced yesterday that they awarded almost $4.2 million worth of grants to companies who are working to turn woody biomass into affordable, useable fuel. The USDA defines woody biomass as “trees, woody plants, limbs, tops, and needles that are byproducts of ecosystem restoration and hazardous fuel reduction activities in national forests and grasslands.” In other words, a lot of the stuff that falls from trees onto the forest floor and is then considered a fire hazard. The grants go to businesses and groups that can make the conversion process affordable and also those that can find use for “small-diameter trees”.  It’s good that the USDA is paying out to turn this stuff into fuel (ethanol, for example), but forests also need to keep their “waste” as part of their ecosystem. [Source: USDA via Domestic Fuel]