A Scottish professor has found a new use for waste from Scotland’s renowned whisky distilleries, aiming to mass-produce high quality biofuel for cars once oil runs out.
Being the first in the world to have successfully produced high-grade bio-butanol from by-products of grain mesh fermentation, Professor Martin Tangney, director of Napier University's biofuel research centre, set up a private company Celtic Renewables, which has now announced plans to build a large-scale facility in central Scotland.
The firm hopes to win funding through the UK’s Department of Transport’s biofuel demonstration competition, aiming to start commercial operations in the next three years.
I guess this means that we'll all have to drink more whiskey.
Interesting. The two feedstocks for the process are Draff and Pot-Ale, both of which are currently used as animal feedstuffs. The output is animal feed as well as the various bio-fuels.
a) I wonder what the opportunity-cost is, in terms of reduced quality animal feed. (The stuff they get out vs. the stuff they put in).
b) I wonder what the EROEI is for the process. I imagine it would be quite favourable if a processing plant could be established next to the distillery. Much of the transporting of the raw materials is taking place anyway. There is no drilling to be done. Just construction of the plant and energy input for the process.
The firm hopes to win funding through the UK’s Department of Transport’s biofuel demonstration competition, aiming to start commercial operations in the next three years.
O ye'll take the high road .............
That tells you on it's face that without UK government subsidy that it is none profitable. Perhaps at some future oil price but not today.
The firm hopes to win funding through the UK’s Department of Transport’s biofuel demonstration competition, aiming to start commercial operations in the next three years.
O ye'll take the high road .............
That tells you on it's face that without UK government subsidy that it is none profitable. Perhaps at some future oil price but not today.
I don't think offering a prize for innovation is quite the same as on-going subsidy of an otherwise financially non-viable business.
