Watermelon juice is the latest source of renewable energy 西
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-08-30 01:52 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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The juice from Watermelon
The juice from Watermelon's are seen as a potential source of biofuel.

Forget chip fat, sugar cane1 or rapeseed oil – the latest source of biofuel could be watermelons.

Scientists have discovered that the fruit is a great source of sugar that can be readily distilled2 into alcohol to power cars and farm machinery3.

And because retailers4 rejects 360,000 tons of “substandard” fruit annually5 in America alone they could be used as an economical way to make fuel.

The waste from US growers could produce nearly two million gallons (nine million litres) of biofuel per year.

In the study, researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture set out to determine the biofuel potential of juice from ‘cull’ watermelons – those not sold due to cosmetic6 imperfections, and currently ploughed back into the field.

About a fifth of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes7 or because they are misshapen.

Dr Wayne Fish, who led the team, found that 50 per cent of the fruit was fermentable8 into ethanol which could provide valuable fuel.

“We’ve shown that the juice of these melons is a source of readily fermentable sugars, representing a heretofore untapped feedstock for ethanol biofuel production,” he said.

The study, published in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels, discovered that watermelons could produce around 20 gallons of fuel per acre from fruit that otherwise would go to waste.

Production of biofuels has been targeted by western governments as a way to bolster9 renewable energy targets.

The European Union has a target for 2010 that 5.75 per cent of transport fuels should come from biological sources, but the target is unlikely to be met.

The British government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation requires five per cent of the fuel sold at the pump by 2010 to be biofuel.

不用再考虑肥肉、甘蔗和菜籽油了——西瓜可成为生物燃料的一个最新来源。

科学家发现,西瓜中含有大量糖份,糖可直接用于提炼酒精,从而为汽车和农用机械提供动力。

每年仅美国的零售商遗弃的“不合格”水果就达36万吨,而这些水果可通过一种十分经济的方法来制造酒精。

美国水果种植商每年扔掉的水果可生产出近200万加仑(900万公升)的生物燃料。

在这项研究中,美国农业部的研究人员开始测定这些“被淘汰”西瓜的汁液究竟具有多大的潜在利用价值。被淘汰西瓜指的是那些由于外表瑕疵未上市,又被淘汰回地里的西瓜。

每年约有五分之一的西瓜因外表瑕疵或形状不规则而被丢弃。

研究小组负责人韦恩•费什发现,50%的西瓜汁可发酵产生乙醇这种宝贵的燃料。

他说:“我们发现西瓜汁中含有易发酵糖,这种原料在乙醇生物燃料的生产中尚未被利用过。”

这项在《生物燃料的生物科技》期刊上发表的研究发现,每英亩的西瓜能产生约20加仑的燃料,而(如果不加以利用,)这些水果就会被白白浪费。

西方国家瞄准制造生物燃料,以此促进可再生能源的发展。

欧盟计划到2010年实现“5.75%的交通燃料源于生物燃料”的目标,但似乎很难实现。

英国政府的《可再生交通燃料义务法》规定,到2010年,生物燃料占加油站所售燃料的比例应达到5%。

Vocabulary:

chip fat: 修整下来的肥肉片,切碎脂肪,肠油

cull: something picked out from others, especially something rejected because of inferior quality 剔除的东西

cosmetic: something superficial that is used to cover a deficiency or defect 表面的

mishappen:形状奇怪的

ethanol: an alcohol obtained from the fermentation of sugars and starches or by chemical synthesis 乙醇

untapped: not yet used or exploited 未利用的,未开发的

feedstock: raw material required for an industrial process (送入机器或加工厂的)原料

pump: a device to force a gas or liquid to move in a particular direction 汽油加油泵



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 cane RsNzT     
n.手杖,细长的茎,藤条;v.以杖击,以藤编制的
参考例句:
  • This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
  • English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。
2 distilled 4e59b94e0e02e468188de436f8158165     
adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 );从…提取精华
参考例句:
  • The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 machinery CAdxb     
n.(总称)机械,机器;机构
参考例句:
  • Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗?
  • Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。
4 retailers 08ff8df43efeef1abfd3410ef6661c95     
零售商,零售店( retailer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
  • Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。
5 annually VzYzNO     
adv.一年一次,每年
参考例句:
  • Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
  • They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
6 cosmetic qYgz2     
n.化妆品;adj.化妆用的;装门面的;装饰性的
参考例句:
  • These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
  • Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品,所以请尽情微笑吧!
7 blemishes 2ad7254c0430eec38a98c602743aa558     
n.(身体的)瘢点( blemish的名词复数 );伤疤;瑕疵;污点
参考例句:
  • make-up to cover blemishes 遮盖霜
  • The blemishes of ancestors appear. 祖先的各种瑕疵都渐渐显露出来。 来自辞典例句
8 fermentable 0440329f5048b3373ea575f726597a20     
adj.可发酵的,发酵性的
参考例句:
  • We will discuss fermentable fiber more in Part 5 of this series. 我们将会在这系列的部份5讨论沸腾的纤维更多。 来自互联网
  • The conditions of fermentable and enzymatic conversion of M14 were optimized. 对高活性突变株M14的细胞转化和发酵转化条件进行优化。 来自互联网
9 bolster ltOzK     
n.枕垫;v.支持,鼓励
参考例句:
  • The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
  • He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。
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