Some might call it a tragedy - Sierra Nevada turns beer to ethanol
How about one more for the road? The folks at the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has an interesting alternative to those who hate to see our corn crops turned into bio-fuel. Working with California-based E-Fuel, which developed the world’s first home ethanol production system, the brewer will help to turn its beer leftovers into a liquid you pour into your fuel tank, rather than your belly.
Before you start screaming, “Oh, the humanity,” understand that the process will rely not on beer itself. You won’t have the option, at the pump, between lager, pilsner and heffeweisse. It’s the stuff found at the bottom of the barrel, about 1.6 million gallons a year of unusable beer yeast, which is otherwise sold off to farmers to feed some lucky – if hung over – livestock.
Normally containing about 5 to 8 percent alcohol, E-Fuel’s new methods will transform the sludge into ethanol, which can be mixed with gasoline, in various dilutions, to run many of today’s flex-fuel vehicles.
Tomorrow's beer-powered beer truck?
“Creating ethanol from discarded organic waste is an excellent example of how the MicroFueler can help eliminate our reliance on the oil industry infrastructure. This is especially true when considering Americans reportedly discard 50 percent of all agricultural farmed products,” said Tom Quinn, E-Fuel founder and chief executive officer. “Using a waste product to fuel your car is friendlier to the environment and lighter on your wallet, easily beating prices at the gas pump.”
A test run will begin by mid-year and if it proves out, those beer trucks delivering Sierra Nevada products to your local liquor store just might be running on beer byproducts before the end of 2009.
What do you think the response would be if your local Chevrolet dealer had his entire dealership under solar farm on its roof. And he invited everyone in his zip code and across town to come and see his electric meter running backwards.
Then he offered to sell you a new volt and a solar system for your home that the first 30% was paid by her income tax, and both the car and the solar system were paid by the money you were today giving teargas electric company.
And in seven years you paid nothing for the car and the solar system was free for the next 40 years. Please become aware that 50 million people out of 300 million give a damn about saving the planet and will go to any extreme to do business with companies they believe are protecting the atmosphere and doing something about global warming, instead of adding to it if anybody out there reads this stuff you might give me a call and I will show you how to save the American automobile industry Herb Vendig 847-466-2221
Sadly, interest in green, fuel-saving automotive technology seldom translates into purchase decision, Herb.
For those who’ve seen the repeated reference to AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson, on TheDetroitBureau.com, consider an interesting observation he made during a recent interview: Upwards of 90 percent of the folks who now go to AN dealerships ask about hybrids. Less than 2 percent actually buy them. Yes, in some cases, that’s because there’s nothing available in the size or make they’re looking at, but most often, folks simply can’t make the equation work when they do the numbers.
Out of your 50 million, data show perhaps one in 10 will make more than the token effort to go green, ie by putting a recycling box out with the garbage. The rest? They’ll wait for the price to come way down, or even until it actually saves money.
Now, get gas back to $4, implement hefty incentives, etc., and maybe the equation begins to work.
Paul A. Eisenstein
Bureau Chief, TheDetroitBureau.com