New research has come out that indicates watermelon could make a good biofuel additive.  Now, I know you're immediately cringing because watermelon is a food crop and that spells disaster, but the good news is that no one is proposing that we start taking over arrable land with watermelon patches.

It turns out that 20 percent of every annual watermelon crop is unused because, well, it's ugly.  Misshapen or bruised fruit doesn't sell, so farmers leave them in the field and take a loss.  Those extra watermelons could be processed for their juice, which could then be made into biofuel.

What makes these disfigured melons biofuel-worthy?  Watermelon juice contains seven to ten percent directly fermentable sugars or easy ethanol.  While the juice would have to be almost triple concentrated to be the sole feedstock in a biofuel, it would make a great additive to other biofuel blends that need to be supplemented or diluted.  Farmers could process the juice on-site and use it as an alternative fuel or sell it to biofuel-makers and make revenue on what would usually be wasted fruit.

Of course, a feedstock's potential to make ethanol isn't everything.  We'll have to see how watermelon-blended biofuels perform compared to other feedstocks and gasoline to know if harvesting their juice is worthwhile.

via Biotechnology For Biofuels

The Navy has put out a call to biofuel producers for 40,000 gallons of their best JP-5 aviation biofuel for use in test flights of the F/A - 18 Super Hornet.

The Navy will decide by the end of the month who gets the contract for the test flights.  The choice of company will determine what feedstock will be used in the fuel, but jatropha, camelina and algae are all likely to be in the running and no food crops are being considered.  Regardless of which type of feedstock is chosen, it will be used in a 50/50 blend with petroleum-based jet fuel for the tests.

Ground tests of the biofuel will be conducted at a General Electric facility in the coming months and within the next year test flights will begin, covering at least 15,000 miles. Boeing recently conducted a successful test flight of a 747 using a 50/50 blend of jatropha and jet fuel and saw significant fuel savings and emission reductions.  It will be interesting to see if biofuels perform as well in a fighter jet.

The Navy hopes to have completed testing and approved a biofuel for use in their fighter jets by 2013 and is looking to do the same for its ships in the same time frame.

via U.S. Navy