Booze For Fuel

Electric cars and their hybrid half-siblings are milestones in man's quest to find alternative power sources for automobiles. News regarding Toyota's recent statement about the future of hybrids only emphasize that mission further. It also shows that alternative cars are feasible, and in Toyota's eyes, profitable.

In this light, researchers in Japan are not only looking into hybrid automobiles but are also studying other fuel sources as well.

To combat the ever continuing rise in gasoline prices, researchers in Japan are experimenting with an alternative biofuel based on the elements of traditional Sake fermented rice wine. The government-funded project will call upon local farmers from the Shinanomachi province to the north of Tokyo to donate their farm waste, in the form of rice hulls, to be turned into pure ethanol.
The ethanol would then be supplied as a fuel to the locals for evaluation under the pilot program, reports Scientific American. If the project catches, it could eventually pave the way for similar endeavors across Japan that will see more cars running on the rice-based biofuel in the future, said Yasuo Igarashi, a professor of applied microbiology at the University of Tokyo.

It's the sort of news that makes everyone happy. Imagine converting farm waste into biofuel that you can use in your car. Heck, I always knew there was something good about booze :-)

source: Motor Authority

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Booze For Fuel

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