Are We Ready for Beer-Powered Cars? New Zealand Thinks So

[eridani]

http://www.nationofchange.org/2015/08/04/are-we-ready-for-beer-powered-cars-new-zealand-thinks-so/

Climate change and the global energy crisis have both escalated to the point where something drastic must be done, and fast. The potentially dire circumstances are enough to drive anyone to the bottle, and for a few people, it already has—albeit for honorable reasons.

While other breweries are busy perfecting gimmicky seasonal brews to satisfy the barflies and frat boys, the minds behind DB Export have been hard at work developing their very own recipe for an alternative fuel—and it comes from an unconventional source.

The New Zealand-based brewery has come up with the world’s first commercially obtainable, beer-derived biofuel, and is now pumping a limited quantity through 60 Gull service stations across North Island.

This fuel, which they’ve dubbed “Brewtroleum,” exploits the excess sediments left behind by the fermentation process and repurposes this inactive yeast solution, which would otherwise go to local stock farmers or be thrown away as waste. Around 15,300 gallons of the slurry were sent to a refinery to be used in the production of 79,250 gallons of biofuel. It’s expected that this initial batch will last six weeks, according to company spokesman Sean O’Donnell.

In truth, it’s a wonder why humanity had not arrived at this idea sooner; ethanol has always been an important part of our slow transition away from fossil fuels—and in turn a part of any debate about how to reverse climate change. Unfortunately, the world at large has been slow to adopt ethanol, in part because it has always competed with food crops. Derived from corn, ethanol tends to be seen more as a threat to world food production than as our savior from fossil fuels.

Because of this, the efficiency with which ethanol is manufactured is of great importance. The rate at which we can produce these fuels is part of what helps us differentiate between different kinds of alternative fuels.