Power Plant Converts Fruit and Veggie Waste Into Natural Gas For Cars 118
Zothecula writes "Some readers might remember the Mr. Fusion unit in Back to the Future that Doc Brown fills with household garbage, including a banana peel and some beer, to power the iconic time-traveling DeLorean. While we're still some way from such direct means of running our cars on table scraps, researchers at Fraunhofer have developed a pilot plant that ferments the waste from wholesale fruit and veg markets, cafeterias and canteens to make methane, which can be used to power vehicles."
Good idea, expand it to cover more fule sources. (Score:4, Insightful)
Expand it to cover more fuel sources. (Score:5, Insightful)
The Parent post everstates the case, a lot of imperfect produce becomes tomato sauce, potato flakes, strawberry puree, applesauce, carrot juice, etc.
There is a lot of agricultural waste, some scratch and dent from retail, and a LOT of uneaten or wasted food from restaurants.
I expect there are some enzyme or bacteria treatments that can cause this mash to release more starches or sugars before the fermentation phase begins.