No Wheat? No Worries! Just Use Whiskey

Researchers at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland have found a way to produce biofuel using the two main byproducts of the whiskey distillation process, reports the Guardian's Kirsty Scott. Taking the "pot ale" — the liquid from the copper stills — and the "draff" — spent grains — the researchers used an old fermentation method first developed to produce butanol and acetone, Scott says, and were able to produce biobutanol, which gives 30 percent more power than bioethanol. The new fuel has the potential to be used in cars and even in airplanes, the researchers say. They're trying to file a patent for the method, and plan to start a company to commercialize the invention, Scott reports. The Daily Scan wonders if this will change the meaning of "driving under the influence of alcohol."