Today in Biofuels Opinion: “Dude, DIY Ethanol From Beer Yeast.”

Joelle Brink, Biofuels Digest correspondent: “NEPAD, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, has been promoting biofuel crops for at least 5-6 years that I know of and it’s hard to think of an African nation that isn’t growing Jatropha and/or Sweet Sorghum today. ICRISAT, the international research institute for the semi-arid tropics, has been promoting biofuel crops in Africa even longer and supplying farmers with elite hybrid seeds. It even has an office in Zimbabwe.

“So while I’m glad that Bob Geldorf has just discovered biofuel crops as a means to Africa’s development, it does seem like yet another case of international celebrities aligning themselves with already successful homegrown enterprises. Also, there has been a lot of criticism of non-African investment in African nations, likening it to a return of colonialism. Zambia is doing extremely well on its own with Jatropha and other biofuel crops, and South Africa, which helped organize NEPAD, may not be too pleased if its own efforts are eclipsed by foreign investment. The one exception is of course India, because many educated and influential Africans are of Indian descent, and because India has good relations with most African nations.”

From Earth2Tech: “Dude, DIY Ethanol From Beer Yeast. Totally brotastic: a home ethanol kit that runs off of discarded beer yeast. The entrepreneurs behind startup E-Fuel, who have been hawking a washer-and-dryer-sized home ethanol system called the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler, say this morning that they’ve done a deal with Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. to use the beer maker’s yeast waste as a feedstock.”

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