Manky peaches to make hydrogen fuel
Peaches come from a can, they were put there by a man. So the Presidents of the USA told us. Not the real ones, of course, the band which temporarily bothered the charts during the mid 90s. What they failed to tell us, however, is that some years later, peaches would be used to generate energy.
Some scientific types are on the case right now, in fact, hoping to milk rotting fruit for hydrogen, to be turned into fuel.
With a research grant from the Peach Council, Ms. Drapcho, a biosystems engineer at Clemson University, is using bacteria to generate hydrogen from rotting peaches. The bacteria she uses, called thermotoga neapolitana, are found in the high temperatures that occur near deep ocean volcanic hydrothermal vents. Being near the boiling point of water suits these denizens of the deep, for it allows them to do their best work.
In the lab, the microbes can produce by-products containing up to 80 percent hydrogen gas, but reliably produces hydrogen in the 25 percent to 30 percent range. This could make peaches economically feasible as a biofuel, since peaches contain a high percentage of the sugars that can be converted to hydrogen, Ms. Drapcho said.
Greenbang is astonished. Not at the science behind it, no: at the fact that the Peach Council not only exists but funds such fascinating endeavours but also that more than 20 millions pounds of peaches are thrown away each year in South Carolina.
