Valencia goes green with biofuel-from-oranges plan

24 June 2008 16:16  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Valencia, Spain's third largest city, has launched a project to make up to 37.5m litres/year of bioethanol from orange pulp and peel, the local government said on Tuesday.

 

The fuel, which would require an estimated 500,000 tonnes/year of orange pulp and peelings for production, could eventually power up to 25% of the city's cars, Valencia, one of the world’s top exporters of the fruit, said.

 

Under the proposed scheme, Valencian regional authorities would build a factory in partnership with Europe’s leading bioethanol suppliers Abengoa and Acciona, it added.

 

Carmaker Ford could also join the project, which was still in its study phase, by testing the fuel at its Almussafes automobile engines factory, it said.

 

The announcement comes after Spanish biofuels supplier Bionor - part of the Cie Automotive auto-parts group - bought 50% of biodiesel oil processor Gestion de Aceites Vegetales for €672,000 ($1.05m) last week.

 

The company collects and processes vegetable oil waste that can be used to make biodiesel.

 

($1 = €0.64)

 

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By: Ivan Castano Freeman
+44 20 8652 3214

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