What is ethanol?Ethanol is ethyl alcohol. This is the same alcohol that provides the "kick" in alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, and vodka. |
What is alcohol fuel?Alcohol fuel is typically another name for ethanol fuel. Many people use the terms interchangeably, however ethanol fuel is more specific as you are identifying the type of alcohol being used as the fuel. There are many different kinds of alcohol and all of them may be burned. |
What is ethanol fuel?Ethanol fuel is a very close cousin to 195% "Everclear" or very high proof moonshine. However, ethanol which is to be used as a fuel has been "denatured" which means it has been poisoned, and is unfit for human consumption. Prior to denaturing the ethanol sometimes is 95% ethanol and 5% water, while other times it is very close to 100% ethanol. |
What is denaturing alcohol?This means the alcohol has been poisoned, and is unfit for human consumption. It is a required by the ATF so the fuel may not be consumed, thereby avoiding the federal and state taxes on alcohol for human consumption. |
Is ethanol safe to drink?Ethanol is as safe to drink as is "Everclear" or any other 195-200 proof alcoholic beverage, but denatured ethanol fuel is a poison. In most cases there are very specific legal requirements that must be observed whether one is producing alcohol fuel (aka ethanol fuel) or alcoholic beverages. Be very certain you fully comprehend the laws that bind you, and always observe these laws. Failure to do so may result in great costs and even spending the rest of your life behind bars. The United States of America is one of the countries that very closely governs the production of all kinds of alcohol. Behave accordingly. |
I'm new to all this. Where do you suggest I find more information?Here, of course *smile* .... You might try browsing my suggested reading list. In particular, I have found these resources quite useful:
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What is "food stock" (aka foodstock)?This is a broad term used to identify any substance which will be used as the primary ingredient in the mashing/fermentation process. Traditionally grains are used to make drinking spirits (alcoholic beverages such as whiskey). But many plants are viable. Vodka is traditionally made from potatoes, and rum from molasses, for example. Many of us who distill alcohol for fuel, seek "waste" sources of food stock. Stale bread or doughnuts, for example. |
What is "mashing"?This is the process of preparing the raw ingredients for fermentation. It typically includes cooking the food stock (think: making oatmeal), adding enzymes to break down the starches into sugar, and then letting the "mash" cool until the temperature is low enough to support the life-cycle of the yeast. |
What is "fermentation"?Fermentation is the process of yeast changing sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. Alcohol and CO2 will be produced in roughly equal proportions (by weight). Both the alcohol and the CO2 provide useful resources. And the "waste" mash provides an excellent food for animals. |
What are "enzymes"?Enzymes are essential to all biological systems. We use them to break long chains of starch molecules into shorter sugar chains. So the primary reason for using enzymes is to pre-process the food stock so the yeast may do their work. Follow the suppliers instructions when working with your enzymes, as they do have certain temperature and pH ranges within which they perform optimally. |
What is "yeast"?Follow the suppliers instructions when working with your yeast, as they do have certain temperature and pH ranges within which they perform optimally. |
What is "beer"?"Beer" is the liquid remaining after the fermented mash has been strained. It is sometimes called "wash." |
What is "wash"?"Wash" is the liquid remaining after the fermented mash has been strained. It is usually called "beer." |
What is done with the wastes from the fermentating/distilling processes?"Byproduct" is a better term than "waste" because the byproduct retains useful value. After we prepare our beer, the majority of the food stock remains behind, still containing valuable nutrient value, and is called "distiller's grain." While it still holds much of the water in it, it is called Wet Distillers Grain (WDG). If we dry it out, it is called Dry Distillers Grain (DDG). Another term you may see is DDGS, which means Dry Distillers Grain with Soluables. (Some people place the word "Distillers" first, as in Distillers Dry Grain instead of Dry Distillers Grain) The "soluables" are what we added to the raw grain, such as the enzymes and yeast. These are a few web sites offering additional information:http://www.ksgrains.com/ethanol/ddgs.html http://www.ddgs.umn.edu/ http://www.drieddistillersgrains.com/ http://www.distillersgrains.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distillers_grains While this appears largely correct when I viewed it, bare in mind that anyone may submit content to Wikipedia. It is best to confirm information found on such user-supplied-information sites with third party sources deemed reliable. |
What is DDGS and Distiller's Grain?DDGS, DDG, DWG, and WDG, generally are all the same thing. They are the "waste" ("byproduct") left over after we make our beer. This byproduct is basically just ground up, boiled grain, with a little yeast added to it, along with whatever minerals were in the water we added. The "W" means it is still "Wet." When two D's are used, one means is it "Dry." The "D" and "G" mean "Distillers Grain." The FAQ discussing what we do with our "waste" discusses this in greater detail. |
Is ethanol fuel legal to produce?Yes, no, or maybe, depending upon where you live. In most cases there are very specific legal requirements that must be observed whether one is producing ethanol fuel or alcoholic beverages. Be very certain you fully comprehend the laws that bind you, and always observe these laws. Failure to do so may result in great costs and even spending the rest of your life behind bars. The United States of America is one of the countries that very closely governs the production of all kinds of alcohol. Behave accordingly. I will not even attempt to address the laws of other countries -- you are on your own! For that matter, I'm not an attorney, so please assume I am completely wrong in all legal matters and seek out, and independently verify, the legal situation that applies specifically to you.In the United States the minimal requirement is to obtain the federal "Alcohol Fuel Producer Permit" from the ATF/TTB. This is a reasonably easy process and has cost zero dollars for many decades. I have found the people in this (small) ATF/TTB office to be quite easy to work with and very professional. Please be nice to them! I know our government is too big, too wasteful, and too cumbersome to accomplish much of anything. But none of this is the fault of these people, and they really are trying to help us, and they have always been courteous to my experience. Quoting the ATF/TTB web site: Sec. 19.910 Application for permit required. Any person wishing to establish an alcohol fuel plant shall first make application for and obtain an alcohol fuel producer's permit. The application for a permit will be on Form 5110.74. The application, in duplicate, will be submitted to the regional director (compliance). The description of stills on the approved application constitutes registration of stills as required by 27 CFR 196.45. Alcohol fuel producers' permits are continuing unless automatically terminated under Sec. 19.920, suspended or revoked as provided in Sec. 19.950, or voluntarily surrendered. (Sec. 201, Pub. L. 85-859, 72 Stat. 1355, as amended (26 U.S.C. 5179); Sec. 232, Pub. L. 96-223, 94 Stat. 278 (26 U.S.C. 5181)) This was last updated on September 17, 1999 (end quote) So what the heck does that mean? I personally found the permit application form to be quite instructive. I also suggest you read the laws and regulations governing alcohol fuel production (27 CFR, Part 19) Follow the links provided below for additional information:
There may also be state and local laws to observe. Unfortunately, every county may differ, and even each town or city within each county may have its own laws and regulations. Plan on investing a fair amount of time on the telephone. These are the agencies I remember contacting in my quest to determine if I was permitted to produce alcohol fuel:
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All that legal stuff sucked the life right outta me! Can you help me?!?!Dance, baby, dance!http://gopherdance.com/ |