Whisky biofuel could power cars

The biofuel, biobutanol, can be used in cars without the need to modify the engine and gives 30% more power than bioethanol, the biofuel currently most widely used.

Biobutanol uses the two main by-products of the whisky production process – ‘pot ale’, the liquid from the copper stills, and ‘draff’, the spent grains – as the basis for producing the product that can then be used as fuel.

With 1600 million litres of pot ale and 187,000 tonnes of draff produced by the malt whisky industry annually, the university claims there is real potential for the biofuel to be available on forecourts alongside traditional. The university now plans to create a company to take the new fuel to market in a bid to make it available at petrol pumps.

This is of course an effective approach to protecting our environment if applied here in Nigeria. But one must consider the after effects when we don’t have a stable economy to put three square meals on the table.  The technology being applied here for the Nigerian automotive industry are still far behind. For instance most engines used in the country averagely fall under Euro 3 engines which are still advanced for the local technician.  While in the US and Western Europe, their advancement has reached the stage of considering the categories of hybrid and electrical cars as an option in Africa and Nigeria. The highest is having part time compress gas drive car. This is something I had witnesed over a decade ago being used even by taxi drivers when I was living in the Czech Republic.  

There comes the other use of personal hygiene. Bio products attract flies or pests so they must be properly stored and properly distributed to the consumer with good and effective orientation. Until that time comes, we still have to work very hard. Let’s hope we will see more enlightenment during the up coming events like the Lagos Motor fair in October, 2010.