The Beast In The Yeast: Beer-Byproduct Biofuel

With all of the waste products our society creates, why not put some of them to use as fuel?  It's already working for french-fry-oil vehicles, so why not use a material that's also awesomely abundant, thanks to our love of beer?

Friends DO let friends drive cars fueled by beer.
(Image courtesy dbexportbeer.co.nz.)

According to mashable.com, the DB Export brewery in New Zealand has developed a sustainable fuel strong enough to drive cars.  Derived from spent brewing yeast and known as "Brewtroleum", the biofuel is made from the slurry that would normally be thrown out or given to animals as food.  In this case, it's mixed with ethanol and turned into yet another product that revs you up, much like the beer it also became.

While DB acknowledges that the Miller beer company was likely the first to pioneer this technique, DB's own Brewtroleum is the first commercially-available E10 petroleum made from beer byproduct.

You're not tipsy, this is true.
Ok, maybe you're tipsy too.
(Image courtesy 3news.co.nz.)

While in the U.S. the ethanol marketed was hindered by the pressure and cost it added to the corn industry, the actual usage of the product was generally accepted.  A chance to make the same type of gas while making less of a negative impact on the source industry could be reason to raise a glass.  With 3,464 craft breweries operating in the U.S. alone, a lot of yeast could be released.

Meanwhile, DB's petroleum will be fueling Kiwis at 60 different gas stations across New Zealand.  With a reported 79,251 gallons of fuel created from 7,925 gallons of ethanol, the nation could spin their wheels for a good six weeks.  Oh, and 8.8 million beers were bottled from that batch beforehand.  Tip a few back to the glory of Brewtroleum!

                                                 

                 Check out this video to see how the fallen beer-yeast warriors 

still fight on to fuel your car.