Gizmodo
The dream of a home ethanol pump has been realized, says the New York Times, thanks to inventor named Floyd S. Butterfield. One of the world's only celebrated non-hillbilly still-makers, Butterfield has invented the $10,000 E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler, a gadget that combines heaps of sugar and a sprinkling of yeast to ferment an alcoholic brew which it then distills into ethanol. The notion is that, as long as the price of sugar stays relatively low, it could cost about $1 per gallon to make the fuel. It's even cheaper when you put un-drunk stale beer in the system: Since the fermentation is done, all it takes is the electricity to distill the beer into scotch whiskey fuel for your car.
Carbon haters would be happy that a gallon of the MicroFueler's ethanol is supposed to produce just 12.5% of the carbon from a gallon of normal gasoline. Butterfield is also someone who people should listen to: In 1982 he won an award from the state of California for "best design of an ethanol still" says the Times. (I had NO idea I could enter my still in a competition!)
Naysayers predict that quality control would be a problem (and anyone who's ever homebrewed beer can probably attest to the finicky nature of the process. Others charge that since sugar costs 20-cents per pound, and you need 10 to 14 pounds to make a gallon of ethanol, well, there goes your cost savings. But Butterfield and his Silicon Valley finance whiz/business partner Thomas J. Quinn swears you can buy "inedible sugar" from South of the Border for 2 to 3 cents per pound.
There's also a small matter of 100% ethanol being illegal as an automotive fuel, but Quinn says that, too, will be resolved. [NYT]
Comments
Some for you..
Some for me..
Some for you..
Some for me..
in brasil we´ve been making ethanol to run in some cars for 20+ years...
was about time someone in the US would start to use it =)
oh and bio-diesel for 10+ years as well
Until we can run cars on either fecal matter or fanboy comments, we are still screwed by the resource reseller...
(Did you know over 17 states and counting are ratifying control over ground water? Now think about hydrogen fuel cells and what they need-besides electricity- to convert to fuel...you own the land, but not the water below...we are so screwed)
@Kaiser-Machead: Clearly you've never tasted alcohol from a sugar wash. Ewwwwwww. Thought you can really imrpove the taste by throwing some bruised crushed fruit in there.
This thing is pretty cool, but quality control is a HUGE issue as far as how this filters excess biproducts out. I mean, when you brew your own, you really notice how nasty the whole process is. Not something I want to pump into my brand new car.
@vinchbr: Have you traveled all the roads in the US? My friend, the taxes from the truckers and fuel (supposedly) pay for the road upkeep here...over 4 million miles of public roads.
And places like California impose a tax on those that make their own biodiesel.
Expect other states to tax this somehow...
@vinchbr: Same here buuuuddy, I remember an episode of one of those TNT or TBS shows about building your own truck, which detailed how to make your own ethanol and bio-diesel by taking grease traps from crappy restaurants. It's a good idea, but a messy and inefficient process.
The problem with all of these different types of fuel is that if you settle on a single one, that will instantly create huge demand and drive prices through the roof. It seems we need to create hybrid fuel from a variety of soures (switchgrass, sugar, etheanol, etc.) or we need to create fuel standards and build our cars to be more flexible in the fuel consumption.
Obviously, this is a temporary measure until we can improve electric and/or fuel cell, but an important one.
I'd rather have a home unit that would convert grass clipping, leaves, and other organic waste into ethanol. I guess as long as I'm wishing I should just wish for the Mr. Fusion, or was it Mr. Fission? I can never remember.
I still don't get using food to run our cars... Why don't we just skip all this nonsense and build engines that can run off of leftovers then... Didn't really care for yesterdays meatloaf, use it to get to work the next morning. If you want to save the environment then construct a real, working, Mr. Fusion.
@baltwade:
Damn.. you beat me to it.. Back to the Future technology is where it's at folks.
@ARP:"need to create hybrid fuel from a variety of soures (switchgrass, sugar, etheanol, etc.)"
Corn, switchgrass, sugarcane, and other plants are all used to make one product, ethanol.
There *is* an all-in-one unit that converts grass directly into fuel - and produces fertilizer as an eco-friendly waste product.
I think it's called the "Honda Horse".
Wow, wow, wow.... stale beer? there is no such thing!
As well intentioned as this guy (and others) are,aren't you limited to trips of 1/2 of whatever the total range of driveability is? Basically,say if the car could go 100 miles on ethanol/methanol/poop/whatever,couldn't you only go about 50 miles,then turn around,because when you get to wherever it is you're going,-that- place would also need the same type of refueling availability,otherwise you're screwed?
@fmccb:
Lol.. the Honda Horse... classic.
@baltwade: Thanks, I guess my question is, do (would) our cars care if its sugar or corn based? If not, then as other posters have suggested, anything that will ferment, is a potential candidate and will help spread out our raw materials issues.
@DeLarge: I don't understand either. What is this "stale beer" you speak of?
Ethanol is harsh on engines. If the US were to implement ethanol as a fuel, they would also need to make engines that could stand the higher burning temperature.
I can't wait to get a "Powered by Red Dog" sticker for my car.
Bah, turning beer and sugar (among other substances) into gas (and lots of it!) is something I already do an a daily basis. Even putting said gas in my ride is no problem (I can do it while riding!), though I usually regret doing so, and lower a window.
Where do I sign up to purchase my Vegan powered car? I'd prefer to drink the beer..er fuel.
The one thing I don't understand about this at home ethanol thingy is... are there cars that run on pure ethanol. My car is E85 certified, which means my fuel still needs to be 15% gasoline, so I'll need to keep some gas on hand to mix with my ethanol in order to use it, right?
@FiveLiters:
Your point is valid, but at $1 per gallon the math does work.
I have a 2002 Flex Fuel Tahoe, I get about 14 mpg. It has a 24 gallon tank, and with fuel getting to be $4 a gallon, I am looking at $0.29 per mile. Ethanol would be $0.14 per gallon.
The equation works as long as the price to manufacture does not exceed half of what fuel costs, otherwise all savings are lost. But also at this savings it would take 139 tanks of this cheaper fuel to pay for the $10,000 machine.
It is starting to be reasonable.
@Camaro02: The problem with your formula is that your Flex Fuel Tahoe will still need to purchase some gas to make the E85 it runs on and you'll be lucky to get 10 mpg running E85.
@Kaiser-Machead: <3 the simpsons reference
I'm still waiting for the septic-tank/generator so I can buy an electric car and power it with my shit.
@Gann: Your garage will be a smorgasboard of putrid stenches. Imagine when all of our taxi cabs that that slight air of liver and eggs near their fuel ports, which will be right next to the rear window.
@Kaiser-Machead: *have* that
wake me when they can convert non-un-drunk beer.
Anybody who thinks that food is going to replace gas is dreaming, or more accurately nightmaring. Food riots are already occurring around the world. This shortage is directly related to using food for fuel.
I keep hearing about using waste products to make bio-fuel, but I don't see much in that area, it is always about corn and sugar. The reason we see the emphasis on these products is political not practical.
What people have to understand is that the day of the private vehicle is over. The idea that we can run 2000lb cars at 60 mph, day in and day out on waste oil from greasy spoons and sugar is insane and ill-informed.
I've been working on developing a vehicle that runs on almost anything edible, including beer. I'm still in the testing phase, but here's a sneak peak of how it will look.
[upload.wikimedia.org]
@itchytooth: It's never going to catch on.... LOL
Where we're going... we wont NEED roads...
@Gary_7vn: But I'm gonna put 26" rims on it! RIMS!
@Gary_7vn: You can run your car day in and day out on bio-diesel that you've made from processing waste oil from greasy spoons. People are doing it right now and have been doing it for years. Of course there's not enough used cooking oil for everyone to do this, but everyone doesn't have too.
The more people that find a gas alternative for their car or a car alternative for transportation the less of a demand there will be for gas. Less demand equals a lower price in gas for the rest who did not switch to an alternative.
I doubt we will see a total break away from oil anytime in the next several generations no matter how great the alternatives become, because if gas prices fall to a certain level there will no longer be an economical reason to go alternative.
@Gann: Remind me not to stand near your exhaust pipe (either one)
@baltwade: Good try, but you are ignoring the supply side. Demand will never decrease, not when the Indians now have the $2000 Nano and the Chinese are dropping their bicycles at the rate of 10 a minute.
There are no alternatives to gasoline, nothing else has as many BTU's. It takes .7 gallons of gas to make 1 gallon of bio fuel, which is not even "cleaner" because you have to burn more to get the same amount of energy.
And if you really really want to save energy, don't forget that the US military is the largest consumer of gasoline in the United States. A withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan will save more oil than any other measure I am hearing about.
Wait, who has leftover beer? Personally, I drink all mine.
@baltwade: That's part of the reason there is so much attention on ethanol- because it can be derived some so many sources. Of course, politics gets involved and the focus becomes sugar and corn. But my understanding is that a variety of bio-matter can be fermented to create ethanol. That should spread out the sourcing issue and allow you to grow a (hopefully native) climate specific crop to turn into ethanol.
one of the only...
two of the only...
45 of the only...
thousands of the only....
none of the only?
"Let them eat cake!"
"But your majesty, there is a shortage of sugar".
@Gary_7vn: I'm thinking that if a good alternative comes out it will be adopted globally and not just in North America and Europe.
I'm sure there are just as many people in India and China complaining about the price of gas.
Call me when we start using antimatter as fuel.
Shortage of sugar would be nice, actually. We consume too much of it.
@ARP: Switchgrass is suppose to be the next big thing in ethanol. It doesn't make as much ethanol as corn does pound for pound and processing it is a little more expensive, but you get more ethanol per acre and it cost less to grow as compared to corn.
Just to clear up a couple myths about ethanol...
First off ethanol is not harsher on engines. Ethanol burns cleaner, provides better lubrication, and burns at a lower temperature.
The mileage decrease is about 20% - 30%. My Mitsubishi evo9 would get between 210 - 220mpg on gasoline and on E85 I get roughly 175. E85 is the equivalent to about 105 octane so to truly take advantage of the power benefits you either need a turbocharged or supercharged car or higher compression pistons.
For example my evo's stock turbo was set at 19psi on pump gas (91 octane). Now with the same amount of knock on E85 I am running at 26.5psi with a huge power increase. The only required changes were fuel injectors, fuel pump, boost controller and reflash of the ECU (car computer).
Depending on how efficient it is and what the max output would be I will be one of the first people in line for one.
I converted my evo9 to burn ethanol. Here are some interesting facts.
Mileage on E-85 is about 20% lower compared to gasoline
Octane is roughly 105 octane + more boost = more power
Ethanol burns cooler than gasoline
Cars fuel components are made to work with ethanol in recent years.
If the efficiency is high enough and output is great enough I would love to have one.
Ah that is nice! So instead of paying a ridiculous high price for our fuel, with starve to death because your food is ridiculously expensive.
Rice anyone?
Here are some more myth busters:
Ethanol does not need to be produced from food. Yes, the first attempts at Ethanol (E85) production in the USA were based on using food, but not technology is rapidly advancing into use of non-edible cellulostic Ethanol (made from stuff like switch grass, corn stalks (not the corn itself), etc) and even landfill waste. YES, the stuff you take to your local town dump may soon be harnessed into fuel for your car. This will create the ultimate tax loopole: we pay taxes to our local government to take away our waste. They invest in a distiller, convert our waste into fuel, and then resell it back to us! Brilliant - now we just need to work on NO NEW TAXES and getting rid of some of the old ones.
Here's more info:
Pennsylvania Site of Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant
Pennsylvania gets the nod from partners General Motors Corp. and Coskata Inc. for a new cellulosic ethanol plant that will produce the fuel for testing by the auto maker later this year. The pilot plant will be located at the Westinghouse Plasma Center in Madison, PA, current si