William Chase, an English entrepreneur responsible for products such as Chase Vodka and Tyrells Crisps, is now exploring the possibility of manufacturing potato-based biobutanol. Indeed, Mr. Chase believes that the waste left over from his Herefordshire vodka distillery could be used to make a high grade vehicle fuel suitable for replacing conventional unleaded petrol.
“We have known for a long time that potato starch is an excellent source of bio ethanol but this new scheme will tap the resources left behind in distillery waste,” said Mr Chase. “There has been research completed at Edinburgh Napier University that has demonstrated that ‘pot ale’ (the fluids left behind from the distilling process) can be fermented into biobutanol. I don’t see why we can’t do the same in Herefordshire.”