Japanese researchers to commercialize biobutanol technology from tangerines

In Japan, graduate researchers at Mie University Graduate School of Bioresources plan to commercialize their method for producing biobutanol from spoiled tangerines in the next two to three years. The region is a major producer of mandarin oranges and as such about 150 tons of fruit go to waste annually, with about 2/3 being incinerated. Instead the plan is to further develop the technology in a university spinoff and use the energy locally.