A Virginia bio-tech firm has synthesized propane from prunes, calling its creation "prune-pane." (image: GreenGiant)
In a landmark discovery, a Virginia bio-tech firm named GreenGiant has successfully synthesized propane from prunes, calling the new bio-fuel “prune-pane.” The company says that its proprietary prune-based formula has the potential to generate propane at a fraction of the cost of conventional LPG, according to a report published this morning in Dried Fruit Monthly.
Carlos Abrile-Frewlz, the lead researcher on the project, said prune-pane can replace propane in most consumer applications. And he recommended it to grilling enthusiasts, for the sweet, earthy flavor that prune-pane brings to the barbecue. “To celebrate the discovery, we roasted some ribs over prune-pane,” he said. “In a word? Delicious.” Abrile-Frewlz added that the prune alternative will also likely appeal to older propane customers, too.
Abrile-Frewlz, scientist.
The announcement follows three years of research and development at GreenGiant, which had experimented with other possible fuel sources, including salsa and candy corn. Though it remains to be seen if the prune technology can be scaled up to produce large volumes of the gas.
And the discovery is not without skeptics.
Dr. J. Hamilton Day, a chemist at the University of Virginia’s Phippsburg campus, called Abrile-Frewlz a “grade-A charlatan” whose claims were “highly dubious.” Though Abrile-Frewlz brushed off the criticism, saying that Day was still bitter about a skirmish between the two at the Bavarian Propane Summit of 1988 — an incident that has come to be known as the the Abrile-Frewlz Day showdown.