Bananas for Fuel

Science & Technology (alternative energy)

We’ve mentioned bananas in organic energy bars, banana fibre lamps and bags and even banana paper, so it’s high time for a banana-lead energy revolution. The Australian Banana Growers’ Council figure that if we gathered up 6,000 tonnes of banana production waste (second-grade fruit and stalks) and put it through a waste-to-energy plant we’d get the equivalent of 222,000 litres of diesel fuel. And why use bananas as this new energy feedstock? “Because it is extremely homogenous, comes in high concentrations within a small geographic area and is fully bio-degradable." The project will be discussed at the Banana Industry Congress, held in Cairns, Australia in the middle of next month. ::Banana Growers’ Council