“You just tell me the
brand of whisky Grant drinks;
I would like to send a barrel of it to my other
generals.”
- Abraham Lincoln, November 1863, to an adviser who
complained of Grant's drinking habits.
Interesting news from one of my
favorite places in the world.
Drinking Scotch can help the environment.
Well, maybe not exactly. Turns
out that, two byproducts of the distilling process (pot ale and draff) can be
used to produce a biofuel. And that biofuel can be used to power cars without
even adapting the engines.
Here's the description from the
UK Guardian article:
"Scottish scientists develop whisky biofuel"
The new method developed by the team produces butanol, which gives 30%
more power output than the traditional biofuel ethanol. It is based on a
100-year-old process that was originally developed to produce butanol and
acetone by fermenting sugar. The team has adapted this to use whiskey
by-products as a starting point and has filed for a patent to cover the new
method. It plans to create a spin-out company to commercialise the invention.
This is sheer genius. Eventually they will
find a way to incorporate whisky into every single aspect of daily life.
Including driving to work in the morning. So, people, do your part: Buy plenty
of imported Scotch whisky to ensure these clever scientists have all the pot
ale and draff they could possibly need in order to complete this important
research.
