How about a bottle of single malt scotch for your gas tank? 
Well, not quite a bottle of your favorite single malt scotch will go into your car’s gas tank, but a group of Scottish researchers from the University of Edinburgh believe that scotch may be perfect for your car’s fuel tank. Researchers at Edinburgh Napier University’s Biofuel Research Center have successfully used whiskey by-products to form a butanol biofuel. The researchers’ formula combines pot ale, which is a fluid coming from distillery equipment, with the grains left over from the production of whiskey. Originally derived from a process that was used to manufacture explosives during World War I and II in the UK. According to researchers butanol fuels can be up to 25 percent more efficient than their better-known ethanol siblings. Using drinkable alcohol in experimental biofuels is not a new concept. One company called E-fuel is selling a home ethanol generator claiming that you could technically use tequila to produce fuel. Alcohol based experimentation in biofuels began before Prohibition, but was soon curtailed by the onset of Prohibition legislation. In the U.S., Sierra Nevada brewing company has entered into a partnership with E-Fuel to start testing the use of beer by-products as feedstock for ethanol fuel. I can imagine a day when we all have our own backyard distilleries again, just churning out some high-test rocket fuel to power our cars of the future. Sounds like fun.
Photo courtesy BBC
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