From the Bar to the Gas Pump: Whiskey Biofuel May Soon Be on the Market

Whiskey, the much loved alcoholic beverage, may become a major source of biofuel production in the near future.

Scientists at Edinburgh Napier University have developed a method of producing biofuel from the two main by-products of whiskey distillation: "pot ale," the liquid from the copper stills, and "draff," the spent grains.

Extraordinary amounts of these two waste products are produced annually by the £4 billion whiskey industry.  The researchers say there is real potential for the whiskey waste to be converted into biofuel.  The method they have developed converts the biomass into butanol which is 30% more powerful than traditional biofuel ethanol.

The research team says the fuel can be placed in conventional car engines without modification, and it can also be used to fuel planes.  The group is currently filing an international patent, and is planning to create a biofuel company.  Commercial development could happen within a few years.

Professor Martin Tangney, the head of the research project said using waste material to produce biofuel is far more sustainable than growing biofuel crops.

Read the full story at The Guardian: Scottish scientists develop whisky biofuel