Our definition of alcohol fuel
is a nearly 100 percent alcohol with a tad of water in it -- not a blend of
alcohol with gasoline. So ... why an alcohol fuel? And why not a blend of
gasoline and alcohol.?
There are several reasons why we chose an alcohol fuel. The first and probably
most important one is that alcohol can be made by anyone, with a minimum of
equipment. The knowledge necessary to make it can be obtained just by reading
this book. As long as folks can grow certain plants, they can make alcohol
fuel to run all or part of their power equipment. Dependence upon someone else
to supply that fuel is no longer a problem or a threat. Second, alcohol is a
good fuel, superior to gasoline in many ways: It can give extra power to
certain engines, it is almost non-polluting compared to gasoline, it is safe
and easy to handle. Third, the cost of conversion from gasoline to alcohol is
inexpensive: For many engines it is merely an adjustment of the carburetor
jets.
Why not a gasohol fuel? The problem is water. Water and alcohol are totally
miscible liquids. That is, they mix in all proportions. Pure alcohol and
gasoline are also miscible liquids. But water and gasoline are not.
This means that an alcohol-and-gasoline blend must be almost free of water. To
make a 200-proof alcohol on the farm would require expensive equipment and
additional production expenditures. At this time, that added expense would
price a fuel blend beyond reason. But alcohol of 167 proof (16.5% water) is as
good a fuel as 200-proof (100%) alcohol and better than gasohol.
Really, it comes down to basic survival. Right now, the fuel shortage doesn't
seem all that serious. It's something like having a leaking roof: When it
isn't raining, the problem is not so bad ... but when it is raining?
The bottom line to all this is that when the next fuel shortage comes -- and
you can bet that one will -- the ones who have prepared best will
survive with the least pain.
Introductory
Overview of the Alcohol Production Flow Chart
The process of making alcohol
fuel is not complicated. However, certain steps in the production line must be
adhered to or else efficiency falls off drastically. The Ethyl Alcohol
Production Flow Chart shows one system that works when using dry starch, such
as that found in grain crops.
The first step is to mill the grain. There is no one essential machine for
doing this. However, the particles of the grain must be small enough so that
all the starch granules can be gelatinized in the cooker. If particles are too
large, the starch granules will be too deeply embedded in the matrix of the
seed to be gelatinized and therefore will not be converted to sugar.
Cooking dry starch in a water slurry is one of the best methods of preparing
the granule for hydrolysis of the starch chain. Although some starch granules
-- such as those in potatoes -- need not be boiled, the starch granule in corn
is too hard for mere soaking of the grain to produce a high percentage of
conversion. The cooker should have an agitator built into it to keep the
starch chain in suspension in the liquid at all times. This insures even
cooking and also prevents hot spots (which can scorch the solids on the bottom
in a direct heat cooker).
After the boil, hydrolysis (the breaking down of the starches to sugars)
occurs. Hydrolysis can take place in the cooker, and that will probably be the
best arrangement for a small distillery.
Cooling after the cook is part of the hydrolytic process, and if the cooker
has steam coils, these can be used as cooling coils as well (the same as with
a steam-jacketed cooker). Adding extra water is another method of cooling (as
explained in the section on Basic Steps in the Production of Ethyl Alcohol).
The mash should be agitated during the cooling phase as well as the heating
phase of mashing.
Following hydrolysis comes fermentation. Because yeast cannot tolerate large
amounts of iron, a separate tank should be provided for this phase: The
fermenting vat needs to be made of wood, stainless steel, or a coated mild
steel. In some large whiskey distilleries, the vat is open to the atmosphere;
this does not present any contamination problems, because the big commercial
firms distill immediately after fermentation and practice good sanitation. If
the farm distillery is not as clean, however, then the tank should be covered.
In case of a totally enclosed vat, the access hole should be only large enough
to allow a person to enter, and it must be covered when not in use. An airlock
on the tank is not necessary, but do not allow any contaminants, such as dust
or insects, to enter.
Somewhere along the production flow -- if a batch still is being used -- a
decision will have to be made as to the point at which the solids will be
separated from the liquid. The solids are likely to settle to the bottom and
scorch. Separation can take place after hydrolysis or after fermentation. The
machinery for this process on a small scale is almost nonexistent. Rotary
screens, perforated tubing with augurs, and wringing out in a gunnysack are
some of the methods being used, but you will probably have to find your own
solution. With a continuous-feed perforated-plate column still, however, there
is no problem. Distill the solids with the liquid mash, and feed the spent
grains with the liquid (see the section on Distiller's Feeds)
Immediately after fermentation, distill! Each hour after the mash is
ready, other bacteria will be working their way into the potential alcohol
fuel. Acetic acid will not work too well in a car, and that is what the
alcohol turns into when the Acetobacter bacteria invades the ferment.
As to the type of still to use, the choice depends upon the needs of the
producer (see the section on Still Designs to determine which type of still
will meet your own requirements).
Once the alcohol fuel is made, it will have to be stored. Use the same
precaution that is used for gasoline storage. Alcohol is hygroscopic (absorbs
moisture), so keep the vents in the storage tank small.
PRODUCTS FROM ETHYL ALCOHOL FERMENTATION
1. C02
One-half of the fermenting sugar is converted to carbon dioxide. It can be
used for industrial application or in greenhouses for increasing plant growth.
2. ALCOHOL
The other half of the fermenting sugar is converted to ethyl alcohol. Since it
contains all the fusel oil, esters, and aldehydes , it is not good for
drinking, but a durn good fuel.
3. DISTILLER'S GRAIN
Nearly all the protein is left in the solids, so distiller's grain becomes a
high-quality feed for livestock. Protein is 28-30% ; fiber is 12-13%; and
moisture is 8-12%. Use it as a supplement to increase the protein in other
feeds.
A
Short But Complex Story About Enzymes and Their Functions
Just how important is it for you
to understand the technical side of alcohol fuel production? After all,
moonshiners -- for example -- have long made "white lightning"
without knowing much about the inner workings of corn, sugar, and alcohol. On
the other hand , the yield the oldtimers get from their raw materials is only
a small fraction of the potential. So, if you're interested in getting the
most from your time and effort, there's no substitute for knowing just what
you're doing.
Ethyl alcohol -- the substance you're interested in making -- is an organic
compound (C2H50H) which is also known as ethanol. Our alky closely resembles
ethane (C2H6), one of the major by-products of gasoline refining. In fact,
most of the commercially available ethanol in the U.S. is made from petroleum.
However, sugar and starch crops are two other viable sources of alcohol.
The sugar extracted from cane or sweet sorghum can be directly fermented with
little or no alteration, but the starches present in grains must be converted
into sugars. Starch itself is nothing more than a long chain of individual
glucose molecules, which must be broken apart or hydrolyzed with enzymes.
However, the conversion process must be very carefully carried out, or your
final alcohol yield will be seriously reduced.
The critters responsible for the transformation of starch to sugar and then
sugar to alcohol are called enzymes, chemically known as protein biocatalysts.
That hifalutin' word means that the enzymes are products of living cells, and
that they encourage a chemical change without being consumed during the
process. There are thousands of enzymes, and each one performs a specific task
at an optimum temperature and acidity level (also known as pH). All enzyme
names end in the suffix "ase", while the first portion of each of
these terms describes the substance that enzyme specializes in converting.
(For example, cellulase converts cellulose into sugar.)
All living cells produce enzymes, and grains are no exception. When a seed
germinates, the enzymes are activated and begin the process of turning the
stored food of the seed (starch) into a usable substance (sugar). Sprouted
barley, for example, actually contains the right amount of enzymes to be used
in an effective cooking process. Most grains, however, lack the proper amounts
or kinds of enzymes to permit rapid, self-contained, complete conversion.
Consequently, such grains need to have enzymes -- which are prepared from
other sources -- added to the cooked meal during mashing.
It's important to understand that starch is actually a complex sugar. Each
starch molecule is a long chain of up to a thousand glucose molecules bonded
either in a straight line or branching like the leafless arms of a tree. Two
enzymes are used to attack the "tree" at different points. Alpha
enzyme attacks the branchpoints and reduces the tree into individual segments,
while beta enzyme attacks the ends of each branch and nibbles off individual
glucose molecules. In order to make all the starch available for enzyme
activity, the carbohydrate granules must be held at a rapid rolling boil for
30 minutes. The heat causes the starch to expand and burst out of its cell
wall, allowing our friends to get to work.
(Traditionally, barley malt has been used as an enzyme source, and also -- in
the brewing industry -- as a flavoring agent. However, today's industrially
prepared enzymes are more consistent and considerably less expensive.)
Mashing is basically a three-phase process which begins with the preboil. As
the temperature approaches 150 deg F, the available starch begins to
gelatinize, whereupon it is attacked by the alpha enzyme -- or alpha-amylase
-- and reduced to a simpler carbohydrate. (The enzyme also serves to keep the
mash from becoming too thick.) Subsequently, the mash is brought to a vigorous
boil and held there for 30 minutes, to release all the remaining starch into
solution.
In the postboil stage alpha-amylase is reintroduced -- since the enzyme is
destroyed at 200 deg F and above -- to hydrolyze any remaining starches into
simpler sugars called dextrins. Once the mash has cooled to 90 deg F,
yeast is added to the mixture, along with beta-amylase. The beta enzyme
operates at the same temperature as the yeast and breaks down the dextrins to
glucose for the yeast to consume.
During fermentation, the yeast produces its own internal enzymes. In fact,
there are 11 separate internal stages that the yeast goes through while
"brewing". Yeast is a faculative organism, which means that
once it has begun to consume sugar, it has a choice between two processes: to
reproduce or to digest. If oxygen is present, the yeast will merrily bud
itself ... but if oxygen is in short supply, the fungi will produce waste in
the form of carbon dioxide and -- you guessed it -- alcohol. Therefore, it's
best to agitate the fermenting mash for about ten minutes to encourage
reproduction, and then cover it up and let it stand
Remember, you're dealing with a fairly sensitive biological process. So,
follow all directions, be sure all supplies are kept in cool, airtight
containers, and keep equipment clean. The numerous undesirable, microscopic
sweet-tooths that can find their way into your mash will give you something,
but it won't smell too good, and you won't be able to put it in your gas tank.
Mother Earth
Alcohol Fuel
Chapter 1
Introduction to a Farmer's Fuel ...
Alcohol
Introductory Overview of the Alcohol Production Flow Chart
A Short But Complex Story About Enzymes and Their Functions
Chapter
2
Farm
Crops for Alcohol Fuel
Raw Materials
More on Raw Materials
Feedstock Handling and Storage
Chapter
3
Basic Steps in the Production of Ethyl Alcohol
More On Conversion and
Fermentation
Fermentation Addendum
Alcohol Yield
Chapter
4
Control of Infection by Planned Sanitation in the Production of Fuel
or Gasohol Alcohol
Chapter
5
MOTHER's Mash Recipes for Alcohol Production
Important! Read Before Making Mash
Preparing a Mash From
Saccharide-rich Materials
A Handy Hydrometer Jacket
Chapter
6
Distiller's Feeds
By-product Utilization
Animal Feed By-product
More Information On By-product Utilization
Chapter
7
How the Distillation Process Works
Packed Column
Perforated Plate
Bubble Cap Plate
Solar Stills
The Reasoning Behind MOTHER's
Still Design
Still Operation
Making Your First "Run"
"Economizing" Your
Alcohol Production
Chapter
8
Six-Inch Column Still Plans
Three-Inch Column Still Plans
Bill of Materials
Chapter
9
Two Low-cost Backyard Stills
Alcohol
as an Engine Fuel
How
To Adapt Your Automobile Engine For Ethyl Alcohol Use
Ron
Novak's Do-It-Yourself Water Injection System
MOTHER's Waste Oil
Heater
