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Producing Ethanol At Home

Started by GF, August 30, 2005, 11:41:15 AM

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DouginUtah

Quote from: Norm on January 17, 2008, 05:27:18 PM
I was reading a report on a study of different blends of ethanol and gasoline. Seems that using a 20%-25% ethanol to gasoline ratio actually gave better gas mileage than just straight gas. Not much of a difference but kind of showed that ethanol having such bad mileage can be overcome.

It was right above the article showing how we are not anywhere near peak oil. ;D

It should be noted that this study was done by ACE (American Colition for Ethanol). You think they might be biased? I'll wait for an independent study before giving any credibility to their findings.

I didn't see the article stating we are not anywhere near peak oil. But it is right. We are way past peak. It occurred in 2005.   ;D

It's like Glenn Beck said earlier this week, "Ethanol is a joke" (For those who don't know Glenn Beck, he is America's third most listened to conservative talk show demagogue.)


-Doug
When you hang around with good people, good things happen. -Darrell Waltrip

There is no need to say 'unleaded regular gas'. It's all unleaded. Just say 'regular gas'. It's not the 70s anymore. (At least that's what my wife tells me.)

---

OneWithWood

As usual, DanG, your cogitatin' has merit.  
The only way I know of to sift through all the 'scientific studies' is to limit your research to the recognized scientific journals.  The articles that make it into the journals have been vetted and subjected to peer review.  It is not perfect but you have some confidence that the chaf has been removed.
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Dana

One of the major networks reported that, at the opening of the Detroit Auto Show, General Motors, announced that we are past peak oil. This was as an introduction to their alternative fuel vehicles. It seems like G.M. wouldn't make such a statement without a bit of research going into it. ;)
Grass-fed beef farmer, part time sawyer

Fla._Deadheader


QuoteIt's like Glenn Beck said earlier this week, "Ethanol is a joke" (For those who don't know Glenn Beck, he is America's third most listened to conservative talk show demagogue.)


How come Junior Johnson and them other "runners", could outrun the "Police Special" souped up cars, while carrying an additional 800 pounds of Likker ???

  Why was Ralph Moody scoffed at in Wash. DC, when he presented FACTS that alcohol could be superior to Gasoline, in price and in emissions ???

  Y'all READ all you want. Better to just start experimenting and see for yourself.

  Alcohol will NOT REPLACE Gasoline. It WILL alleviate the oil supply, SOME.

  Corn is NOT the answer. Doers already know that.  ::) ::)

  OK, shoot away.  :) :) :) :)
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Steve

Harold

What's to shoot at? I totally agree with you. Switch grass for president....
Steve
Hawaiian Hardwoods Direct
www.curlykoa.com

Don_Papenburg

Corn is not hte answer ,but swithgrass and other cellulous ethanol products are not either.  It should be made from sugars of some sort or another.  The more steps and prosseses eliminated the more cost effective and profitable .   

I like the bio diesel ,but soy is not the best product to use there , canola will produce more and better oil per unit .
Frick saw mill  '58   820 John Deere power. Diamond T trucks

Fla._Deadheader


You are correct, Don, BUT, has anyone ever checked on how much spoiled grain there is at each Terminal, where grain is stored out in the open, because of the overproduction ???  I have heard thousands of tons of wheat, for one. THAT can be converted. Localization is the key to Alt. energy.

  Shipping HAS to be kept to a minimum. If I grew crops and produced fuel from those crops, WHY would I want to ship the fuel hundreds of miles to sell it ???

  I went through eastern Colorado one time, and saw thousands of acres of Sugar Beets. That can be used. There are different grades of Molasses that can be converted.

  The US Govt offers price supports for sugar production.  ::) ::) ::) ::)

  Stop the supports and let the market set the price. Demand for sugar for fuel, should , at least, keep the price stable. Tha Fanjul-Cuban Family, rakes in Millions of $$$ a year in price supports from the Central Fl. Cane fields .  ::) ::) ::)

  BIG OIL rakes in $1.00 for EACH Gallon of diesel sold with 1% Veg Oil added.  Govt. incentives.  ::) ::) ::)

  Nearly all these crops STILL will have some value as animal feed, after being converted to fuel production. 
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

DanG

We need to all just back off and admit to ourselves and others that there is no "THE" answer.  All of the alternatives listed have some validity, but none will do the trick by themselves.  We have become accustomed to using one resource as our primary energy provider, and now that resource has become depleted.  There is no single replacement resource in view.  What do we do?  We can start by reducing the energy we use in our daily lives, and cap it off by utilizing whatever energy source we can come up with.  Corn will produce ethanol, so we are stoopid to let one kernel go to the feedlots without first extracting the alcohol from it.  Sugar cane and sorghum can provide some, so we should be taking advantage of it.  Everywhere you look, there are lakes and farm ponds built on streams of all sizes, that are producing energy in vain, on a 24/7 basis.  We(including me :-[ ) are stoopid to use any hot water in our homes without preheating it in a solar water heater.

There are some things going on that will help a little bit, but it isn't nearly enough.   We all gotta pull together!
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Tom

Put that corn and cane in the gasoline!  Yep.  Wall Street will sure take care of that.    $3. gasoline and $15 a quart cane syrup, sugar from beets will be $10 a lb and the liquor stores will close up because that will be going into the sports cars.  Milk is alread over $5 a gallon because the government saw fit to get rid of the dairy's.  It won't be long before the dairy farmers find out that their cows will compete with dragsters if you saddle them and give the rider a stick with a bic lighter on the end.  :D

SwampDonkey

Sugar is way cheap anyway, and Milk is not high enough it seems at $6.30 a gallon so the dairy farmers say. Only thing the farmer doesn't see the profits, it's the processors. Same old story with the potato growers, but imagine using the starch for alcohol production. A tater is high in starch, just another carbohydrate. When you eat it, it's quickly converted to sugar.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Fla._Deadheader


Quote from DanG
QuoteEverywhere you look, there are lakes and farm ponds built on streams of all sizes, that are producing energy in vain, on a 24/7 basis.

  I have access to a report, where the "Greenies" are pulling strings, "behind Closed Doors" to have 4 dams removed from the Klamath River, that produce electricity for over 70,000 homes, so the fish can swim upstream to die.

  Yeah, "Environmentalists" alright.   ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

DanG

Quote from: Tom on January 18, 2008, 11:51:56 PM
and the liquor stores will close up because that will be going into the sports cars.  :D

There are very few facts in the alternative energy business that are really KNOWN to be true, but I think I can guarantee that the liquor supply will be the absolute LAST resort. :o :D :D :D
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Woodcarver

What about grits, Dang?  More corn for ethanol.  :)
Just an old dog learning new tricks.......Woodcarver

farmerdoug

They could still use the DDGs for breakfast. :)
Doug
Truck Farmer/Greenhouse grower
2001 LT40HDD42 Super with Command Control and AccuSet, 42 hp Kubota diesel
Fargo, MI

DanG

Nahhh!  Grits will go more toward the methane part of the energy equation. ;D :D
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

SwampDonkey

Oh, the flatulence of it all.  :D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

flip

FLDH
I'm surprised they couldn't keep the dams and spend $500,000,000 to put in "water escalators" to keep the fish on the move to their doom. ::) 
Timberking B-20, Hydraulics make me board quick

Fla._Deadheader


Ahhhhh  Flip. That's yer problem. Yer eyes ain't glossed over like them Tree Hugger types.

  They simply DO NOT want obstructions to impede the Natives from decimating the Salmon herd.  MOST of the reason for Dam removal, is to help the Natives establish a COMMERCIAL fishing operation on the river. Never mind the fact that  millions of tons of silt will blanket the stream bed, effectively smothering millions of Salmon eggs and Fry.  ::) ::) ::)

  Tests have shown, Gold Suction Dredging HELPS clear the gravel beds, so Salmon CAN reproduce. Greenies wear blinders, don'tcha know   ::) ::) >:( >:(
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

flip

Irony defined.  My girlfriend comes home the other day with a t-shirt that says "Save the forrest".  I drive by with a big grinn and a log behind the tractor.  I hope her $25 dollar donation went to good use ::) ::) ::)  You know, the major deforrestation of southern Indiana ::) ::)

Harold, sound like they would rather fish than have electricity. Progress I tell you ;)
Timberking B-20, Hydraulics make me board quick

Fla._Deadheader


The REAL irony is, These" Protesters" are well backed and receive HUGE amounts of money from the US Govt. to try to control all the resources.  ::) ::) ::)
All truth passes through three stages:
   First, it is ridiculed;
   Second, it is violently opposed; and
   Third, it is accepted as self-evident.

-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

SwampDonkey

Not a home made solution but....

The local Biodiesel plant is providing a blend of ethanol and biodiesel to supplement the diesel used by the city of Fredericton. They are using just small amounts (mililitres) of the additives and reduce emissions by 65 % and increase mileage by 20 %. It's made from local grown grains.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

benjaminbof

I am in Angatuba , São Paulo, Brazil to develop clean fuels. We discover from populars knowledges an alcoholic solution of riccinus communis leaves. This solution is like aeromodels motors fuel. We was tested it and when added to ethanol it cleans carbon deposits into cylinders. It acts like detergent. Combustion is better giving more force to straight ethanol fuel used commonly here in cars.
Regards; Benjamin
benjaminbof@yahoo.com.ar

JimMartin9999

the original question was about how to produce ethanol at home.  I have 250 acres of trees which I would like to use to produce  electric power.  Is there a practical way of doing so?  The Sterling engine should work, but I can´t find one for sale.  Any suggestions?
Jim

Tom

Ask Wood Mizer.  They had one in 2000  or 2002 and were using it in a testing program.  They may still have it, but might be able to tell you where they got it too.

DanG

I just reread this whole thread from start to finish.  It is worth reading. :)
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

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