Tales From The Cooler: It Seemed Like A Gouda Idea: Utah State Students Build Car Powered By Cheese Waste

Virgil Hilts
by Virgil Hilts

I don’t think Bertel would have gone for my original headline:

It Seemed Like A Gouda Idea. Colby Was A Dip But Knew He Curd Build The Car. He Was Not A Whey Nacho Man Nor A Whiz At Car Building As His Wife Brie Reminded Him On Those Nights She Got Grilled On Kahula And Cream While Sitting On A Brick In Front Of Their Swiss Cottage In Monterey, Jack Baruth Being Her True Love. Colby Was Becoming A Basket Queso In His Quest To Get His Kraft In Front Of Auto Writer Csaba Cheddar: Utah State Students Build Car Powered By Cheese Waste

The website domesticfuel.com reports that a Utah State team has built and tested the world’s first biofuel vehicle powered by cheese. The watery fuel is actually a yeast blended with waste material from a local cheese processing plant.

Powered by a one-liter two-cylinder diesel motor, the blue dragster-like single-seater débuted at the Bonneville Salt Flats where it shredded the world land speed record in its biofuel class, topping out at 64.3 MPH. According to onlookers, the car’s exhaust smelled like, “fresh-baked bread.”

Utah State biochemistry professor Lance Seefeldt says this technology could come to market in as few as five years. One obstacle to growth might be if the EPA catches wind of the cheese and steps up regulation of the use, storage and transporting of discarded cheese waste.

Kudos to Utah State. If this technology is used on cars that burn corn ethanol we would have a cheese/corn hybrid!

Virgil Hilts
Virgil Hilts

More by Virgil Hilts

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 4 comments
  • DemosCat DemosCat on Oct 02, 2012

    So the big cheese didn't go for the original headline? A pity. Colby was more of a dip than Brie knew; he'd had an affair with Wensley Dale.

  • Tatracitroensaab Tatracitroensaab on Oct 02, 2012

    This article was painful to read, in a good way ;)

  • Brian Uchida Laguna Seca, corkscrew, (drying track off in rental car prior to Superbike test session), at speed - turn 9 big Willow Springs racing a motorcycle,- at greater speed (but riding shotgun) - The Carrousel at Sears Point in a 1981 PA9 Osella 2 litre FIA racer with Eddie Lawson at the wheel! (apologies for not being brief!)
  • Mister It wasn't helped any by the horrible fuel economy for what it was... something like 22mpg city, iirc.
  • Lorenzo I shop for all-season tires that have good wet and dry pavement grip and use them year-round. Nothing works on black ice, and I stopped driving in snow long ago - I'll wait until the streets and highways are plowed, when all-seasons are good enough. After all, I don't live in Canada or deep in the snow zone.
  • FormerFF I’m in Atlanta. The summers go on in April and come off in October. I have a Cayman that stays on summer tires year round and gets driven on winter days when the temperature gets above 45 F and it’s dry, which is usually at least once a week.
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X I've never driven anything that would justify having summer tires.
Next