Ethanol… Home Made Auto Fuel

If you’re sick of the high gas prices and interested in converting your vehicle to ethanol because you have a ready supply of carbohydrates to turn into fuel, be sure to get your ATF license (application form at this link) so they know you’re not creating booze for resale. BTW fuel alcohol is too dehydrating for humans to drink and a special distilling process is required to bring up the alcohol content enough to make auto fuel.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury, 22 years ago, published regulations establishing a new category of distilled spirits plants for producers of alcohol exclusively for fuel. The Energy Tax Act of 1980 instructed the Department of Treasury to encourage and promote alcohol fuel production. In May 1979, the US Treasury, in conjunction with BATF, proposed legislation to Congress to facilitate alcohol fuel production. With minor changes Congress added this proposal to the Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-223). The Act granted the Secretary the authority to waive provisions of law relating to distilled spirits. The pertinent portions of the Act become effective July 1, 1980.

Everybody wants Ethanol now!

Ethanol demand continues to grow

Prices soar to record for gasoline additive

Bloomberg News
Published May 13, 2006

U.S. ethanol prices surged to records this week, extending a rally since the end of March amid higher demand for the grain-based fuel as a gasoline additive.

Refiners and blenders are phasing in ethanol as a component in reformulated gasoline after abandoning a rival additive known as MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether. That has strained supplies as the fuel industry prepares for the peak driving months of summer.

The ethanol phase-in has "created a very tight situation," said Jim Jensen, president of Jim Jensen & Associates, a Houston-based consultant for the chemical and fuel industries. "Prices have done pretty much what we would expect them to do under the circumstances."

U.S. ethanol prices averaged $2.8626 a gallon Friday, up 2.5 percent from the end of last week and the highest since at least 1997, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was the sixth straight weekly gain. The average price was more than double that of a year earlier.

Gasoline demand in the U.S. typically peaks between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The transition to ethanol-blended fuel has contributed to rising gasoline prices and temporary fuel shortages over the past several weeks in reformulated-fuel markets along the East Coast and in Texas. Fuel terminals and service stations had to empty and clean their tanks in preparation for the switch.

Soaring prices for ethanol as well as crude oil signal higher costs for Americans at the pump.

Regular-grade gasoline will average $2.715 a gallon nationwide from April through September, up 3.4 percent from its forecast a month ago, the Energy Department has said.

"The rise in crude-oil prices is the main reason we increased the average price for gasoline," said Neil Gamson, an economist with the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration.

Corn-based ethanol is mostly produced in the Midwest and shipped to the East Coast and other regions by barge or rail car. It can't be shipped in petroleum pipelines because it binds with water, which ruins gasoline.

Instead, refiners and wholesalers mix ethanol with gasoline at terminals where the blended fuel is loaded onto trucks bound for retail outlets.

There are 97 U.S. ethanol refineries, with the capacity to produce nearly 4.5 billion gallons annually, according to the Renewable Fuels Association.
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An excellent book is available on making ethanol at

http://www.cafepress.com/e85now

DOE Secretary Promotes E85 Use in Indianapolis

Department of Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman yesterday praised and promoted the expanded use and availability of ethanol-based fuel during two events in Indianapolis. Expanding the use of ethanol, specifically cellulosic ethanol, is a key component of President Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI), which seeks to reduce our reliance on foreign oil by 5 million barrels per day by 2025.

It appears that even Old George can see that ethanol is the key to energy freedom in America.

To Still or not to Still... Stupid Question!

To become free of the oil companies, you will need to be able to produce your own fuel. To do this you will need a still, or distillation device. This can be as simple as a copper or stainless steel kettle, to an elaborate system similar to a brewery.

The price can range from less than $100, to several thousand dollars.

I want my SUV

If anybody thinks that I will give up my SUV and start driving some little dink-mobile, they must be on Crack!
I know I'm not the only person in America who feels this way either.
E85 Ethanol, the mix of 85% alcohol, and 15% gasoline..... That's what we need! It has worked in Brazil for years, and if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us too.