NEW PROJECT Orange Peels

[sciencegeek94]

I was trying to figure out a new project for next year. I came across an article about banana peels and how they have somrthing in it that can be used as fuel. So, I wanted to see if orange peels had anything. I researched and found out that there is a protein in them called RLIP76. I want to know what I could do with this?
Thanks!

[sunmoonstars]

Hi!

That's great you are thinking ahead to next year already.

To work through the research phase of your new project, try to web search and figure the answers to these questions - What is in the banana peels that is used as a fuel? Can you answer the same question for other plants that are explored for use as fuel (algae, corn, etc)? Is this the same protein or related to the protein you found in oranges? What is the purpose (normal function) of the protein in the oranges?

Also, when considering biofuels, consider the source plant. Oranges are somewhat expensive to grow, could be used as food and don't grow very quickly. Compare this to algae, which is seeing alot of success right now as a possible biofuel.

Please let me know if this helps, or if you have further questions.

Tonya

[gosia134]

Hi There,
As Tonya said, you need to think about cost. Also, the biofuel making process should be sustainable. Is RLIP76 found in orange skin or meat. If it's in orange skin, you could use orange waste (obtained from orange juice companies) to convert it into biofuel (see what I mean?). This is analogous to corn biofuel industry.
Let me know f this makes sense and if you have more questions.
Best,
Gosia

[deleted-132180]

Hi there,

I agree with the previous experts, and one question that definitely popped into my head when I read your post is why you're honing in specifically on RLIP76 in oranges and not others, since presumably there should be a ton of other proteins found in oranges as well? Is this the only protein you've been able to do some research on so far? Is this protein similar to what they use to make fuel from banana peels? These are some questions to think about as you formulate your question and hypothesis!

Connie

[sciencegeek94]

Hey,
Sorry for replying super late, but I had a question. Do any of y'all have ideas of what the methodology of this project would be, which is trying to create biofuel from orange peels. In other words, how would I go through with this project? I am a high school student so I do not have access to a lot of the high end machines used by researchers. Thanks!

[deleted-132180]

Hello there,

I would probably do some more research on other projects people have done with biofuels to see if there are easy ways to go about doing this without using sophisticated technology in research labs. Looking through the experiments on the Science Buddies webpage would be a great place to start. You also mentioned that you saw an article where they made biofuel from bananas--how did they do that, and are you able to do something similar? Another thing you would have to consider is how are you going to test that the "biofuel" you made from the oranges actually works?

Another alternative would be to actually get into contact with research labs at local universities and see if they can provide any insight into your project idea or perhaps even help you with your project. It's always great to chat with experts in the field because they can give you an idea of what experiments can be realistically done.

Let us know if you have anymore questions.

Connie