A team of Spanish scientists converts orange peels into a biofuel with 55% less soot

by time news

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The results show that this oil is a viable alternative to mix it up to 15% with jet fuel.

The skin of the orange.E.M.
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A scientific team has developed un biocombustible with 55% less soot from orange peels as a viable alternative to traditional fuels.

This team, made up of researchers from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), has used waste from the fruit industry to extract orange oil and analyze its potential as fuel for bioreactors.

The results obtained have shown that this oil constitutes a viable alternative for be blended up to 15% with jet fuel, without causing any inconvenience to the performance of the vehicles and meeting all the requirements of aviation regulations. In addition, as reported by the UPM, this biofuel has been treated to reduce the formation of soot, so that its use would help reduce polluting emissions from current fuels.

The fruit industry produces up to 30 million tons of by-products and waste that have to be managed to avoid economic and environmental problems. Likewise, the high amount of terpenes they possess allows them to be transformed into biofuels suitable for mixing with conventional fuels and that can be used both in aviation and in the automotive industry.

The researchers have stated that the oil derived from the juice industry could replace 0.1% or 0.02% of the kerosene and diesel that were consumed in Spain in 2019. However, they have also qualified that the incorporation of oil of orange to the biofuels market not be enough to meet the emission reduction targets pollutants to mitigate the effects of climate change, but it would help.

In the same way, the use of native resources of each country facilitates the security of supply compared to imported raw materials and increases industrial and economic development at the regional level.

According to the UPM, orange oil, which is mainly made up of D-limonenocould be used as biofuel in aviation and in the automotive industry due to its excellent density, calorific value and cold flow properties. However, they have indicated that the high tendency of this residue to form soot during its combustion requires its transformation through the chemical process of hydrogenation.

“The main advantage of this process is that the complete hydrogenation of the fuel makes it possible to reduce its soot emission by 55%, as we have verified in our study”, pointed out the researcher from the ETS of Industrial Engineering of the University of Castilla-La Mancha. David Donoso.

The use of the vast majority of the by-products of the fruit industry increases its competitiveness. The research indicates that the residual orange oil has several applications such as food, cosmetics and pharmacy. Even so, the residues derived from the food consumption of oranges and the waste of oranges in poor condition in the cultivation fields could also be used.

In the same way, the university has highlighted the possibility of using other citrus fruits (lemon, grapefruit, lime, citron, yuzu, bergamot or combava) to extract terpenes.

The researchers have stated that the oil derived from the juice industry could replace 0.1% or 0.02% of the kerosene and diesel that were consumed in Spain in 2019. However, they have also qualified that the incorporation of oil orange to the biofuels market would not be enough to meet the targets for reducing polluting emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change, but it would help.

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