雪佛龍宣布與得克薩斯A&M AgriLife合作，探索將花生作為可再生燃料來源。
該公司表示，這一合作將有助于為得州農(nóng)民創(chuàng)造新的經(jīng)濟機會，同時支持雪佛龍到2030年將其可再生燃料生產(chǎn)能力提高到每天10萬桶的努力。
雪佛龍公司表示，花生“容易口渴”，該公司強調(diào)，一種典型的作物需要27英寸的水分，來自灌溉和雨水，才能生產(chǎn)出每英畝約5000磅的高質(zhì)量堅果。該公司概述說，這項合作的研究包括開發(fā)含油量更高的花生，以適應(yīng)更干燥的氣候，并補充說，AgriLife打算培育一種“更容易淬火”的“柴油堅果”。
雪佛龍指出，如果成功，該項目可以使以前種植花生但缺水的地區(qū)恢復(fù)生產(chǎn)。根據(jù)AgriLife Research的數(shù)據(jù)，美國約20%的花生產(chǎn)量在得克薩斯州，使其成為美國第二大花生產(chǎn)地。
得克薩斯A&M AgriLife Research研究機構(gòu)主任Cliff Lamb在公司聲明中說：“我們希望這些新的花生品種將為生產(chǎn)者提供有利可圖的旱地或有限的灌溉作物選擇。”
得州花生生產(chǎn)者委員會執(zhí)行董事Shelly Nutt 說：“得州花生生產(chǎn)者委員會很高興支持'柴油堅果'項目，并將其視為得州農(nóng)民的又一工具。”
曹海斌 摘譯自 鉆機地帶
原文如下：
Chevron Exploring Peanuts as Renewable Fuel Source
Chevron has announced that it is working with Texas A&M AgriLife to explore peanuts as a renewable fuel source.
The company said the collaboration will help create new economic opportunities for Texas farmers while supporting Chevron’s efforts to increase its renewable fuel production capacity to 100,000 barrels per day by 2030.
Peanuts “tend to be thirsty”, according to Chevron, which highlighted that a typical crop needs 27 inches of moisture from irrigation and rain to produce about 5,000 pounds per acre of high-quality nuts. The company outlined that the collaboration’s research includes the development of peanuts with a greater oil content that can adapt to drier climates, adding that AgriLife intends to breed a ‘diesel nut’ “that can be more easily quenched”.
If successful, the project could bring production back to areas that previously grew peanuts but ran out of water, Chevron pointed out. Approximately 20 percent of the U.S. peanut crop is produced in Texas, making it the second-largest peanut-producing state in the United States, according to AgriLife Research.
“We are hopeful that these new peanut varieties will offer producers a profitable dryland or limited irrigation crop option,” Cliff Lamb, the director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, said in a company statement.
Texas Peanut Producers Board Executive Director Shelly Nutt said, “the Texas Peanut Producers Board is excited to support the ‘diesel nut’ project and views it as one more tool for farmers in Texas”.
