Ethanol from orange peel

His approach is said to be greener and less expensive than the current methods available to run vehicles on the fuel.

According to UCF, Daniell’s method can also be applied to several non-food products, including sugarcane, switchgrass and straw.

Daniell said: ‘This could be a turning point where vehicles could use this fuel as the norm for protecting our air and environment for future generations.’

Daniell’s technique — developed with US Department of Agriculture funding — uses plant-derived enzymes to break down orange peels and other waste materials into sugar, which is then fermented into ethanol.

Corn starch is currently fermented and converted into ethanol but ethanol derived from corn produces more greenhouse gas emissions than petrol. Ethanol created using Daniell’s approach is claimed to produce much lower greenhouse gas emissions.

There is also an abundance of waste products that could be used without reducing the world’s food supply or driving up food prices. In Florida alone, discarded orange peels could create about 200 million gallons of ethanol each year, Daniell said.