--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This is an initial FAQ. It'll grow fast. I'll post significant > additions on the list and keep updated versions on the Journey to > Forever website: > http://jtforever.org/ethanol_faq.html > > and in the Files section at the list website: > http://www.onelist.com/group/biofuel/ > > > Fuel ethanol FAQ Version 1.0 > > Q. Where can I get plans for an ethanol still? > > A. Blueprints and instructions are available for an ethanol still > that will make 5 gallons or more an hour of 180-proof ethanol on the > first run, every run, and weighs only 28 lb. > > This is an advanced fourth-generation design. It is not a toy for > making drinking alcohol: this is a serious tool for making your own > fuel. > > The blueprints are available from the designer, Robert Warren, former > founding director of the California Alcohol Fuel Producers > Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting > alternatives to using petroleum fuels Association. > > Robert has constructed 131 working stills. His research on ethanol > spans 20 years, and he is a founding member of this mailing list. He > can be reached by email at: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > This FAQ is compiled from information supplied by Robert. See the > Journey to Forever Website for more information: > > http://jtforever.org/ethanol_robert1.html > > > Q. Can I make this still myself? > > A. Yes - if you are handy with copper plumbing tools and techniques. > You'll find the blueprints to be quite thorough in helping you > through all parts of assembly. The instructions are very precise and > well drawn to show you the whole assembly process. But it does take > an experienced hand to solder the pipes properly. > > The plans contain the complete list of materials, detailed drawings > of the construction procedures, and some alternative methods of > heating and running the still. It includes several pages describing > how to adjust and run the still, with variations for different > feedstocks and fuel sources. > > > Q. How much do the blueprints cost? > > A. US$25 plus $3 for airmail postage. Allow up to four weeks for > delivery because the blueprints have to be batch-printed - printing > is the main cost and batch-printing keeps the price down. > > > Q. How much will the still cost to build? > > A. It will cost you about $400 to $500 to build the still, or less if > you're good at scavenging parts and components, such as hoses, etc. > You can scavenge a lot of the other materials on the list, but if you > want the still to work right, you need to build it exactly as shown > on the blueprints. This is a fourth-generation design, and it is very > efficient. > > You'll need 5 feet of 3-inch-diameter copper pipe, with various > copper fittings as listed in the plans, costing around $125. > > The key piece of technology is the automatic temperature > sensor/controller valve, which precisely regulates the optimum > temperature for separation of condensed alcohol from the water > vapors. This ensures consistent production of 180 proof ethanol. The > valve costs up to $225. We're searching for a good and hopefully > cheaper source for these. > > An old gas water heater can be cannibalized for the gas burner, if > you want to use propane or natural gas to heat your boiler to run the > beer through the still. Or you can make a wood burner out of some > concrete blocks and an empty 55-gallon oil drum turned on its side. > Use scrap wood for fuel. > > > Q. How long will it take to build the still? > > A. I used to teach a still-building class over a two-day weekend, > which included a full day of building and completing a still. It may > take you a month or two just to get your components together, and > then you can put it together in one good weekend. > > Invite a couple of handy friends over to help. The following weekend > you'll want to have a still firing event with those same friends! > Nothing makes you feel more self-reliant than running a car, > motorcycle, or even a lawn mower on fuel you've made yourself! > > > Q. What's the production rate? > > A. If you have ten gallons of beer at a 5% alcohol content (which is > about what you get working with barley or wheat) you end up with a > little over 0.5 gallons of high proof (0.05 x 10 gal / 0.9 = 0.55 gal > of 180 proof). > > You can see that to be efficient you will want to start with a > minimum of 100 gallons, hopefully at a 10% sugar concentration, to > get 10 gallons of fuel. > > If you run it at full capacity (it is designed to handle a 500- gallon > boiler), you can produce a little over 7 gallons per hour of 180 > proof fuel. You can run two stills in parallel if you want 14 gallons > per hour. > > > Q. How much does it cost to produce 1 gallon of ethanol? > > A. If you do this on a large enough scale, it will cost about $1.10 > to $1.20/gal to make the alcohol. > > You will also have animal feed by-products which you can sell to > reduce the total cost to about $0.85/gal. > > > Q. What do I do once I have a still set up? > > A. First you need a good source of feedstock. By feedstock, I mean a > good source of sugar or starch (carbohydrates) which can be fermented > in the same process with which you make beer or wine. > > You aren't going to drink it, so it can be somewhat contaminated: for > example, we once made a batch of ethanol from a weeks' garbage from a > prison which had a lot of lumpy mashed potatoes and stale bread, and > had to fight off the flies while we mixed it with water and pumped it > into a fermentation tank. > > Another time we used five-year-old dehydrated prunes which I soaked > for a week to get them soft enough to grind with a baseball bat. > > Realistically, it's best to do all this on a farm where you have > access to hammermills, large tanks, and various means of handling > large amounts of feedstock (and the resultant waste). > > Feedstocks: corn (stocks, cobs, and all) is good, as are sugar beets, > jerusalem artichokes, rotten apples, grape skins from a winery, and > much more. > > As for fermentation, this is basically the same process as for making > beer or wine, except that you don't have to worry about the taste, > since you aren't going to drink this stuff. > > Lots more information to come on feedstocks and fermentation! > > > Q. Is it easy to learn how to make ethanol? > > A. It's not rocket science, but there is quite a lot to learn. > Running a still does require some knowledge of the whole process. You > really need to read a couple books on the subject, which may or may > not be out of print. Check your local libraries (including University > Libraries). There are good resources at the Journey to Forever > website: > > http://jtforever.org/ethanol_link.html > > We'll be adding more and more resources on all aspects of ethanol > production - not just links, but full-text information. We'll advise > list members as new material is made available. And we'll keep adding > to this FAQ. Before too long you'll be able to find everything you > need to know right here. > > > Q. How corrosive is ethanol to fuel system parts and how have you > addressed this problem? > > A. Ethanol is somewhat corrosive to certain rubber and cork materials > found in old-time carburetors. Neoprene is better. > > Ethanol will also eat the coating on most gas tanks, and a separate > plastic cross-link polyethylene tank is recommended. > > However, in practice, we put alcohol in a standard gas tank and just > clean the fuel filter occasionally. > > > Q. How do you combat the problem of hard starting on cold days with > carburated engines? > > A. Our most common method is to salvage an old windshield washer pump > from a junk yard and rig it up so you can push a button on cold > mornings to squirt a small shot of gasoline into the carburetor. > > This is not easy to do with fuel injection. NREL (the US Dept of > Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Ford and GM all > have some very technically advanced ways of dealing with this, though. > > > Q. What is the octane rating of 180 proof ethanol? > > A. 180 proof ethanol is equivalent to 105 octane. You would need to > modify your engine to run a fuel this powerful. This involves > carburation (or fuel injection) and timing. > > The main modification required to run a carburated engine on ethanol > is drilling out the jets or installing larger jets. > > It is better to buy replacement jets and drill those out so you still > have the originals if you ever want to revert to gasoline. For some > carburetors used in racing, you can buy the next size larger jet. > > You want to drill the jet out only 15% more by total diameter, no > more. In fact, start at only 8% and try that first. Every engine is > different according to its compression ratio. > > In several vehicles I've owned, I never changed the jets at all: I > just pulled out the choke a little bit. > > Don't let any of this stop you - we need to get people out there > making their own fuel and showing the oil giants that we aren't > dependent on their whims. > > Much more to come on engine modifications! > > > Q. Does ethanol have a shelf life and will it lose its octane level > like gasoline does? > > A. If it is sealed it will last for years and years. If opened to the > atmosphere, it will suck moisture out of the air and get a little bit > diluted. > > > Q. Does ethanol go rotten in time like gasoline and produce varnish? > > A. No. Alcohol is what preserves your wine and gets better as the > years go by. But you need to start with triple distilled alcohol as > made in the still I designed so that the fusil oils and other > impurities are removed. > > > Q. How difficult/expensive is the US licensing process for making alcohol? > > A. Getting a licence from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and > Firearms (BATF) is not difficult, and only takes about a month. The > address can be found at: > http://www.atf.treas.gov/alcohol/info/alctoblab.htm > > They don't have a very good web site, though. They are pretty much > old school, and you may need to write or call them. Ask for > information about getting an Experimental Fuel Distillation Permit. I > think it is only $10 or $15. > > > Q. Is there a limit to how much ethanol can be produced for individual use? > > A. You can make as much as you like, the only requirement is that you > report how much you make and that you denature it (make it poisonous > to drink). Isn't that a cool way of making sure people don't drink > it? They must think it is better to kill folks than to let a few > people get off without paying the tax. This law was established back > in the days of prohibition. > > > Q. Do you have any similar information on butanol? > > A. Butanol is a pretty exotic fuel, not something you want to make in > your backyard, as the smell is truly horrible - not so much the fuel > itself, but the cellulose-eating bacteria, like very smelly socks > times 1,000! > > Butanol is a very interesting fuel, though, as it can be made from > rice straw which is normally just burned off, and you don't have to > modify your engine as it is completely compatible with gasoline, as > well as miscible (it will mix with) with gasoline. > > Better to stick with building a still and making ethanol. It is clean > and there is no pollution, and the neighbors won't complain about the > smell. > > Check the Files section at the list website for an initial > bibliography on butanol: > http://www.onelist.com/group/biofuel/ > > > Q. The part of the process that concerns me is the mashing and > fermentation. Is there any way to simplify or automate these stages? > > The California Department of Agriculture ran a still-building > competion a few years back and awarded a prize to Floyd S. > Butterfield, a farmer who automated pretty much the whole process. He > used sludge pumps to circulate the mash during the fermentation and > also the cooking processes, which keeps the solids from stacking up > at the bottom of the cooker and burning during the process of boiling > (cooking) the mash to create the steam vapors you are feeding into > the still. > > We'll upload a detailed report on the design and performance of Mr > Butterfield's process to the Files section of the list website within > a couple of days (25-3-00). > http://www.onelist.com/group/biofuel/ > > There are lots of books about commercial alcohol production, but you > may have to go to an agricultural university library to find them. > The enology (wine making) department at Univ. Calif. Davis is a world > leader in the field and has extensive resources on ethanol > production, as does the California Department of Agriculture.
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