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Making ethanol

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David B

01-26-2005 17:48:52

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Hey guys, any of you ever make ethanol? I want to for a science project, it's been approved by teacher and principal.
Looking for some free information, everything I find they want paid for.
Thanks
David

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Tom Graham

01-27-2005 16:25:30

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

I have a manual from Mother Earth News that is a do it yourself guide to making and using home brewed alcohol fuel. Mother Earthers went around the country in the early 80's putting on one day seminars on making your own fuel. It's typical mother earth simple technology. Where do you live David? I won't part with the manual, but maybe I would copy it for you; or maybe there's one in your neighborhood.

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David B

01-27-2005 16:55:48

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to Tom Graham, 01-27-2005 16:25:30

Hi Tom, I'm in Hopkins, Mo. Nothing like that around here. My emails unlocked if you want to drop me a message.
Thanks

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RustyFarmall

01-27-2005 11:51:10

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

Hey David, let us know if you decide to do it, and exactly when you will start. I might want to be careful about crossing into Missouri. LOL

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26Red

01-27-2005 09:43:40

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

You should try making biodiesel out of vegatable oil. Pretty easy and cheap to do if you have access to chemistry lab.

biodiesel

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Haas

01-27-2005 08:39:35

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

I believe making ethanol yourself would be illegal, as ethanol is same as what's in liquor and as such is a controlled substance. As others said, you need a permit. Maybe there is some exception on small quantities for personal use. Distilling ethanol to 100% purity requires special knowledge and equipment, as if forms an "azeotrope" at 95% ethanol, and you can't get the other 5% of water out without special procedures.

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Doug in OR

01-28-2005 16:22:03

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to Haas, 01-27-2005 08:39:35

Heyyyyy.... we made it when I was in high school! LOL! Times were different back then. In a nutshell, here's what you do:

Get some molasses and cut it a little with water - maybe 1 part water to 3 parts molassss. Add some yeast - I don't recall how much - and let it sit at room temperature for about a week. Do not let it sit in a sealed container. After your week is up, all you need to do is distill the ethanol from the other gunk. Simply heat the mix to something slightly above the boiling point of ethanol - about 172F, as I recall. Run the steam through a condensor and the droplettes should be pretty strong stuff. Ours burned nearly clear when we made it in high school. Distill it VERY carefully, paying attention to the temperature. We tried to hurry our batch. It made for some stuff with a NASTY taste. We didn't try to drink it or anything, honest!

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Jay (ND)

01-27-2005 06:52:13

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

This one looks cheap and very simple to make. The link is a .pdf file, so you need adobe to open it. Go to Brewhaus.com for more info.

Cheap still - PDF file

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knauffj

01-27-2005 06:26:40

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

I did a semester project on making ethanol and converting a truck to run on it. I found the majority of my info on the web from Mother Earth News articles/books. They explained the theory, operations, "recipes", and a whole lot of other stuff to do it cheap. These articles, I think, are from the 70's when gas was high in demand/low supply. Beware: A permit from ATF is needed to make ethanol (different from moonshine) and I think you have to be over 21 to get it. Or else, just be real quiet about what you're doing ;) If you can't find the info, just post back and I should be able to get you some of the info I have. Good luck, easy project to get A!

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Rauville

01-27-2005 05:16:29

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

Here's a link to a commercial system that shows the basics.
I found it interesting to see that they add 5% gasoline to the final product to denature it.

Ethanol Layout

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rednekelmo

01-27-2005 02:48:35

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

I read a book a year or so ago about that subject it was written the 70's with lots of good info on bulding a still, tuning your engine ect.(fox fire type moonshine stills ain't the way to go) give me 4-5 days and I'll try to swing by the library and see if I can find the name and author.

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maj_allen

01-26-2005 21:55:20

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

I looked the process up on www.ask.com and found the following site that is totally free Link They really do explain how to make ethanol also. Good luck with your project.

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riverbend

01-26-2005 19:42:14

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to David B, 01-26-2005 17:48:52

If you can still find it, look in "The Foxfire Book" I think he gave a description for making mash and distilling alcohol. If not, read up on brewing and distillation.

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workhorse

01-26-2005 20:17:31

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to riverbend, 01-26-2005 19:42:14

send me a sample in a unmarked qt jar

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Dick Davis

01-27-2005 01:36:59

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to workhorse, 01-26-2005 20:17:31

Seriously how is making ethanol different from moonshing? Is a poison added? Thanks Dick Davis

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riverbend

01-27-2005 06:14:23

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to Dick Davis, 01-27-2005 01:36:59

Ethanol is grain alcohol. It is denatured by adding methanol to it to make it poisonous.

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NDS

01-27-2005 05:45:22

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Re: Making ethanol in reply to Dick Davis, 01-27-2005 01:36:59

Worked at chemical plant back in fiftys and sixtys we bought high grade ethanol in 5 gallon cans for use in anlytical lab. Got to be so many people drinking the stuff that they started to add trace of something that would make you sick if you drank it. Tried it few times myselt about ounce in cup of coffee would sure brighten your night on midnight shift.

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