The home of whisky could be an innovator in the race for cost-effective bio-fuels.
A glass of Scotland's finest malt Image:Sashafatcat |
Researchers from Scotland's Edinburgh Napier University have hit the bottle, but for all the right reasons. They have discovered that the by-products of the national drink, whisky, could be the latest innovation in biofuel development.
A team from the university's Biofuel Research Centre, led by Professor Martin Tangney, has discovered that two key residual elements from the whisky distillation process form a perfect base for the production of butanol. Although vehicles have been shown to be capable of running on pure butanol, the most likely use for the product will be as a fuel additive.
The university is set to establish a new company to produce and market the product and is currently seeking a patent for the discovery. In essence, the whisky left-overs of liquid from the copper stills (pot-ale) and the spent barley grains (draff are converted to butanol using a process developed by the research team.
The university received plenty of input from the nation's whisky distillers, in particular the Glenkinchie Distillery in East Lothian near Edinburgh, who provided samples of the by-products. The result could provide significant additional revenue for an industry that is already one of Scotland's most lucrative and produces more than 187,000 tonnes of draff and 1,600m litres of pot ale annually.
The discovery adds a whole new dimension to the term drink-driving!