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According to a new study, the juice which is present in rejected watermelons is actually a valuable source of bio fuel, which can be fermented into ethanol.
Wayne Fish and few other researchers worked at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) lab in Lane, Oklahoma, for the evaluation of the bio fuel potential of juice from 'cull' watermelons.
"About 20 percent of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen," said Fish.
"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," said Fish.
In addition to being used for the manufacturing of ethanol, this juice can also be a potential source of lycopene and L-citrulline. These are 'nutraeuticals’, which is currently in demand.
Even after the removal of these compounds from the ‘cull’ watermelon juice, the juice still contains the potential for being fermented into ethanol.
These findings were published in BioMed Central's open access journal Biotechnology for Biofuels.
