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Drink more whisky. Save the Earth.
The Scottish are making a promising biofuel from what's left behind from the distillation process.
Wed, Aug 18 2010 at 2:26 PM
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Photo: sashafatcat/Flickr
When Scotch whisky is distilled, it leaves behind two main waste products — a liquid called pot ale and draff, the remains of the grains used in the distilling method. These two waste products are being used by researchers at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland to create a new biofuel.
According to the Guardian, the Scottish have a £4 billion ($6.2 billion) a year whisky habit, and that habit leaves “copious quantities” of both pot ale and draff that in the past has gone unused. This biofuel can be used in regular cars — meaning there’s no need to adapt the engine as there is with some other biofuels. Researchers also say it's possible the biofuel could be used to fuel planes.
The biofuel, called butanol, gives 30 percent more power output than ethanol. With ethanol, corn crops are specifically grown to produce the biofuel. With the whisky waste butanol, no new crops are necessary. The grains grown for the Scotch whisky become the grains used in the biofuel, making this new type of biofuel more environmentally sustainable.
So, if we want to move away from fueling our cars with oil, perhaps we should start drinking more whisky. The more whisky we drink, the more waste there will be to create biofuel, right?
In all seriousness, this seems like a step in the right direction for finding alternatives to oil. The European Union has set a goal that biofuels will account for 10 percent of all fuel sales by 2020. Researchers say this new biofuel could contribute significantly to this goal.
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I can't find any specifics about the emissions except, but articles like one on BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-10998281) say it will "help Scotland reduce its emissions from road transport."
I suppose until there's science on it, we should keep underage kids away from the tailpipes of cars that use the whisky biofuel, huh?
yeah, this is one way people who drink could help contribute to the environment.
Not only do I love this I really Love this a lot
Just remeber not to drink and drive !
Absolutely... no drinking and driving! Glad you liked the article, Susan.
You got to love Whiky hã???? I will increase my drinking efforts as soon as today!!!!!!!! We got to save the planet!!!!!
Fekin Merkins
What a great way to use something that would have been waste to make something usable!
Oh, and...
Here's mud in your eye ;-)
(in case that doesn't translate to other areas of the world, it's a drinking salutation)
Wonder how that salutation came to be - interesting trivia!
Great Idea!
come to our site www.splitzvillefarms.com and check out some of the planet saving stuff we are doing! also our blog at howtogogreen@wordpress.com contains some of the best idea we have combed from the net!
cheers
Will
whiskey*
Scotch Whisky is spelled without an E.
It's Whisky (Scottish English) or whiskey (Irish English), according to which you follow.
"Scottish English"? There's no such thing. Scots is not a derivation of English. Scots and English evolved side by side.
My grandfather became a millionaire selling brewers grains to farmers.We wont stop people drinking, but if we can make the air quality better and stop sucking the earth dry- why not? Please make your whisky organic like in the old days, and I'd fuel my car and drink the whisky any day- go the Scotts!
Please come up with something serious, it's not funny anymore, this wouldn't even dent the oil market. Get off you fat arses and walk more. Using less is going to be the only option so grow up.
You're a minor. Goodnight! Big kids don't sign their name "Anonymous" on ANY site. Stand up for what you believe! You'll be amazed how much you'll change for the better.
Yah he's right.Thats one way to put it bluntly. In the end, the real solution is just going to come from limiting population growth and consuming less.
But it is still a fun/interesting idea. :)
Yah he's right.Thats one way to put it bluntly. In the end, the real solution is just going to come from limiting population growth and consuming less.
But it is still a fun/interesting idea. :)
It's people like you who make the world an unpleasant place to be.
Goodnight!
a great reason to drink.
When everybody have had enough whisky who cares about fuel for the cars. Drunk driving is forbidden almost everywhere in the world,
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