Whiskey Powered Diesel Trucks Add a Twist to the Notion of Drinking and Driving

Photo: Colin Smith. Wikimedia Commons

Human creativity and ingenuity knows no bounds it seems. Over the weekend there appeared a story from Edinburgh that was certainly unusual.  The Glenfiddich Distillery in Northeast Scotland now uses its whiskey bi-products to power heavy duty diesel trucks. The title of the article was Drink and drive: Glenfiddich uses whiskey waste to power its trucks.

The production process involves combining soaked barley grains with "a yellow, beer-like liquid called pot ale" and mixing in an anaerobic digester to produce low-carbon biogas. The resultant gas is essentially methane, which is stored at a location where specially adapted trucks can refuel.

The distillery's biogas now powers the distillery's converted trucks that are used to transport the distillery's whiskey and other products. You might even say that the full-circle use of whiskey for energy makes for a good marketing story, powering sales for the distillery as well. In short, it's a renewable energy story that is ultra-low carbon.

A spokesperson for the distillery said that each truck using the new biofuel saves around 250 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere.

Evidently the concept of creating a biofuel from spent grains and liquid from stills had been announced in 2010 by researches at Edinburgh Napier University. Environmentalists hailed the idea, and now Glenfiddich Distillery has followed through on the concept.  

Another benefit of the technique is that alternative means of generating biofuels can cause damage to forests and wildlife habitats. The Glenfiddich success has many people believing that whiskey-powered cars would be quite feasible in Scotland's future, significantly reducing CO2 in Scotland's future.

At this moment in time only three of the distillery's trucks have been converted. Their aim is to convert all twenty of their trucks and then do a roll-out to the rest of the industry.

Glenfiddich's distillery director Stuart Watts notes that the lifecycle cost of buying and maintaining trucks running on biofuel is similar to straight diesel. The benefits are environmental. “This makes a compelling choice for companies such as ourselves to use the biogas truck rather than the traditional diesel truck," he said.

Whatever will they cook up next?

Looking West, across the Pacific, here's an answer to that question. The president of a transport firm in Southwestern Japan is now powering his trucks with biofuel partly made with ramen soup broth. The company, Nishida Shoun, mixes waste cooking oil with lard extracted from the broth. For what it's worth, the broth is made from pork bones.

The company is already using the biodiesel in some of its trucks and will have all 170 vehicles in its fleet converted by September.  

Both these stories are a good read. Maybe one of them will give you ideas on how to recycle your own waste bi-products while making the world a cleaner, safer place.

Links

Drink and drive: Glenfiddich uses whiskey waste to power its trucks

Japanese Transport Firm Makes Diesel Fuel Using Ramen Broth

The Shelby Drift Team Shows Their Stuff in St. Louis

I remember when Drifting was beginning to get a foothold here in the U.S. It had already been thriving in Japan since the mid-70s. The sport, which involves oversteering and high-powered risk-taking, first touched down in California two decades later, gaining popularity through events and magazine coverage. 

The fact that Drifting is still drawing crowds and competitors burning rubber shows the sport wasn't just a fad like goldfish swallowing or hula hoops. Here's a video from a Formula Drift event in St. Louis.

This video, featuring Jonathan Nerren and Tyler Nelson, shows both the power and elegance of the sport. To perform at the highest levels requires skill, courage and discipline. 

One reason why it takes experience to excel in the sport is because tires behave differently at different temperatures. Knowing how to get your treads warmed up and keep them in the game is an essential skill that you don't acquire by simply having fun in a parking lot, or a rural dirt road, once in a while. 

This video is courtesy Champion Oil, manufacturer of Blue Flame Diesel Oil and a full line of other lubricant products.