LATimes.com: Who needs gas if you have old beer?

Shaquille O'Neal is an investor in this concept. You pay $10k for a "Micro-Fueler" which has a 250 gallon storage tank and makes ethanol. You will need an alcohol fuel producer's permit from the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to produce up to 10,000 gallons per year, but here's how it works.

You have the device on your personal property with a pump similar to that found at gas stations. It is most effective with wastes that are high in alcohol (like "liquid waste" from brewing companies), but can also take things like "lawn clippings, dairy products, old chemicals, cardboard, paper, bruised and discarded apples." They are all fermented and turned into fuel "in minutes." If you don't have enough waste to create enough fuel, the company will deliver some raw materials at the rate of $2.00 per gallon. GreenHouse International has contracts to convert 29,000 tons of brewing company waste using these MicroFuelers.

In addition to using it to make ethanol for your car, you can use the ethanol to run a generator that produces 23 kilowatt-hours of electricity per gallon of fuel.

One thing to keep in mind is that your miles-per-gallon rating with ethanol is not the same as with gasoline (it is less), but the carbon dioxide emissions is less with ethanol.

Not sure if it is worth all the hassle (application to the government, maintaining a delivery schedule, slight drop in mileage is difficult to compare actual price and price savings, etc.) but it is an interesting concept.

For more information, read the Los Angeles Times article by clicking here.