Whisky distillery set to convert by-products to biobutanol

Tullibardine, an independent malt whisky producer in Blackford, Perthshire, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Celtic Renewables, an Edinburgh-based company that has developed the technology to produce biobutanol from the by-products of whisky production.

Tullibardine has the capacity to provide 6,500 tonnes of draff, which are kernels of barley soaked in water to facilitate the fermentation process, and two million litres of pot ale, a yeasty liquid that is heated during distillation.

At a cost of £250,000, these by-products are currently spread on agricultural fields, turned into animal feed or discharged into the sea under licence.

The distillery is currently supplying raw materials to help refine the conversion process at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) at Redcar in Teesside.

Celtic Renewables, a spin-out company from the Biofuel Research Centre (BfRC) at Edinburgh Napier University, aims to build a processing plant in Scotland that will help grow an industry projected to be worth £60m a year.