Scottish whisky is becoming quite the green business these days – with whisky power plants and brand new green distilleries popping up throughout the country. Last year we reported that Edinburgh Napier University transformed pott ale and draff from the making of whisky into fuel to run a vehicle, and now the university has turned that process into a business called Celtic Renewables Ltd.!
Celtic Renewables Ltd. was founded by Prof Martin Tangney who is also the director of Napier University’s Biofuel Research Centre and was also the lead researcher on the study that lead to the forming of this new business. The main goal of Celtic Renewables is to produce biofuels on a commercial scale from whisky byproduct that act as a direct replacement for gasoline. “The Scottish malt whisky industry is a ripe resource for developing biobutanol,” Tagney told the BBC. “The pot ale and draff could be converted into biofuel as a direct substitute for fossil-derived fuel, which would reduce oil consumption and CO2 emissions while also providing energy security – particularly in the rural and remote homelands of the whisky industry.”
Scotland has set a goal of running entirely on renewable energy by 2020 and thus they’ve seen green energy businesses popping up left and right. Celtic Renewables was founded thanks to private funding in part from Adelphi Distillery co-owner Donald Houston. Each year the whisky industry produces 422 million gallons of pot ale and 560,000 tons of draff during its production that generally go to waste. Researchers involved with the product say that the substance they produce, biobutanol, is 25% more powerful than the traditional bioethanol used in the automotive industry. Though single distilleries like Bruichdillach have introduced personal digesters, it seems Celtic may be the first commercial operation to put whisky into cars.
Via DVICE
Scottish whisky is becoming quite the green business these days – with whisky power plants and brand new green distilleries, they’re ahead of the pack. Well, they’re about to add yet another sustainability first to their list with a whisky byproduct-derived fossil fuel replacement. Last year we reported that Edinburgh Napier University transformed pott ale and draff from the making of whisky into fuel to run a vehicle, and now the university has turned that process into a business called Celtic Renewables Ltd.!
Celtic Renewables Ltd. was founded by Prof Martin Tangney who is also the director of Napier University’s Biofuel Research Centre and was also the lead researcher on the study that lead to the forming of this new business. The main goal of Celtic Renewables is to produce biofuels on a commercial scale from whisky byproduct that act as a direct replacement for gasoline. “The Scottish malt whisky industry is a ripe resource for developing biobutanol,” Tagney told the BBC. “The pot ale and draff could be converted into biofuel as a direct substitute for fossil-derived fuel, which would reduce oil consumption and CO2 emissions while also providing energy security – particularly in the rural and remote homelands of the whisky industry.”
Scotland has set a goal of running entirely on renewable energy by 2020 and thus they’ve seen green energy businesses popping up left and right. Celtic Renewables was founded thanks to private funding in part from Adelphi Distillery co-owner Donald Houston. Each year the whisky industry produces 422 million gallons of pot ale and 560,000 tons of draff during its production that generally go to waste. Researchers involved with the product say that the substance they produce, biobutanol, is 25% more powerful than the traditional bioethanol used in the automotive industry. Though single distilleries like Bruichdillach have introduced personal digesters, it seems Celtic may be the first commercial operation to put whisky into cars.
Via DVICE
