Whiskey in Scotland has been strangling for centuries. The waste from its production is now used by a distillery to fill its delivery trucks with less polluting fuel. In the village of Dufftown in north-eastern Scotland, workers at the Glenfiddich distillery dump soaked barley – the leftover grain – into the back of a truck, where they make a smoke stack.
These grains will then be combined with a pale, beer-like liquid called “pot ale”, another residue from making whiskey, before undergoing anaerobic digestion to produce low-carbon biogas, which can be used as biofuel. is done as.
Technology Developed in 2010
“We now have vehicles that can transport our goods and spirits across the country using a very low-carbon renewable energy source,” says site manager Kirsty Dagon.
The idea for this biofuel made from spent grains and “pot ale” came from researchers at Napier University in Edinburgh, who announced they had developed it in 2010.
The discovery was praised by the environmental association WWF at the time, because unlike other biofuels such as palm oil, the fuel could be made without harming forests and wildlife.
Each of the three customized trucks that use the new biofuel prevents emissions of about 250 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Christy Dagnan estimates.
Freelance twitter maven. Infuriatingly humble coffee aficionado. Amateur gamer. Typical beer fan. Avid music scholar. Alcohol nerd.
