In Wake of Four Loko Ban, Recycler Turns Caffeine-Spiked Booze into Biofuel

By Clay Dillow Posted 01.18.2011 at 12:59 pm 9 Comments

Going Loko Austin Uhler via Wikimedia

Four Loko—that high-octane alcohol- and caffeine-fueled malt beverage that drew the ire of federal authorities late last year—has found a new and appropriate role in the energy cycle: automotive fuel. A Virginia ethanol recycler is taking shipments of the product, which has been pulled from store shelves in several states, and recycling it into ethanol for use in gasoline.

Wholesalers from various east coast states have been buying Four Loko and several other beverages back from retailers and shipping it to MXI Enterprises in Abingdon, Va., since the FDA issued letters to four companies in November declaring that their cocktails of alcohol and caffeine led to a “wide-awake drunk” that was resulting in, among other things, fistfights, automobile accidents, alcohol poisoning, high levels of intoxication and other less-than-virtuous behaviors. The FDA went so far as to label the caffeine an “unsafe food additive.”

So MXI and some of its competitors are turning Four Loko and similar beverages into something that everyone—not just college students and teenagers getting plastered on the cheap—can benefit from. MXI distills the alcohol from the drinks and sells it to be blended into gasoline while also separating out the water for recycling. Even the cans, cardboard, and shipping pallets are recycled—almost as if the short-lived Four Loko trend never even happened.

MXI can process four truckloads—each truckload holds 2,000 cases of the 23.5-ounce colorful cans—per day, so it’s going to take a while to turn all that sweet malted goodness into usable ethanol. Thirty products were singled out in the FDA’s letter, so turning all those potential parties into fuel could take several months.

[AP]

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9 Comments

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MacGyverDXS

01/18/11 at 4:10 pm

"Wow, "several months" of fuel that only dirty hippies care to and even can use. Who gives a sh*t."

Um....did you even read the article? FYI ethanol is blended into almost all gasoline. You are thinking of bio-diesel.

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friikafrika

01/18/11 at 4:47 pm

@aesimano, did you create an account just so you could post that comment?

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BigityBalzworth

01/18/11 at 9:14 pm

Quit whining newbies!!!

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tertertert

01/18/11 at 9:16 pm

@aesimano
It's not that these so called 'dirty hippies' went out and started creating this stuff just for fuel (there are plenty of other things for that, MacGyverDXS mentioned bio-diesel for one example). This is a story about a smart company taking a dangerous 'beverage' that would have likely been dumped into the drains anyway after the FDA declaired it unsafe, and turning it into valuable fuel.
I would much rather have this added to my fuel then ethanol from things like corn crops that would be better used to feed our people. That alcohol energy drink mix is nothing short of a deadly mix that should not have even been allowed in the first place. It's a good thing they're making good use of it.

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-my name here-

01/18/11 at 9:41 pm

@aesimano: you need to watch it. these comment sections aren't for chewing people out. is that the only reason you even got your account?

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inaka_rob

01/18/11 at 10:39 pm

ignoring the ^^ABOVE^^ comments: I never got to try fourloco (been in Japan for the past few years) but they had caffeine\alcohol drinks before I left and they have them in Japan. Shock Cola for example. I think its pretty irresponsible to ban a drink just because it got abused (err... popular) (instead of the larger picture ie caffeine plus alcohol pre mixed), there are 20 other alternatives on the market. but glad to see they are not just pouring it down the drain.

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ken579

01/19/11 at 1:14 am

It's still wasting alcohol to me.

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BigityBalzworth

01/19/11 at 1:19 am

Yes it is completely rediculous that this popular consumer product was banned because some underage kid who should not have had it in the first place killed himself after possibly drinking some. His parents were understandably upset but have no right (or proof) to lead a media assault against the companies making these products. This is a huge problem in America. Some family gets their sad story on the news and uses the momentum to place blame and wage war to ease their pain, or benefit, or for whatever reason. anyway, still drinking it in AL. guessing the caffene may be gone, though, which I'm in favor of anyway. Very potent stuff. you can grab a couple pretty cheap and be feelin' pretty good, pretty quick. should have just quit making it and sell what was left, but i am glad it is being "recycled"

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lnwolf41

01/20/11 at 1:30 am

lnwolf41
I guess were stuck with having to pour redbull in a glass with vodka. having to go old school darn.

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