Ethonol production?

Question

Recently saw an ad for home still to make alcohol fuel for $ 1.00 a gallon. The feds require that alcohol fuel must be 85% gasoline !!! You can run 100% alcohol right? We're being sold a bill of goods on the production of ethonol being too expensive. How much gas does it take to refine a gallon of gasoline?

Why can't we use the alcohol and put OPEC out of business ?

Answer 1

You can run on 100% ethanol, (Some types of race cars use it), but it requires a number of changes.

The gaskets used in standard gasoline fuel systems can not be used with STRAIGHT ethanol.

Since the molecule is bigger, the fuel system needs to be re-jeted for 100% alcohol.

Alcohol is harder to ignite, and requires different engine timing.

It is NOT as efficient, volumn wise as gasoline.

At this time ethanol is considerably MORE expensive than gasoline, and it is usually mixed with nitromethane (VERY expensive) to provide more power.

I would DOUBT ANY advertisement giving THAT low a price.  Just check the price of booze at the liquor store and/or the cost of the 'raw' materials, even in bulk!!!

We just simply can't afford to produce it in the quantity needed at this time as the primary sources for ethanol are ALSO FOOD crops.

Answer 2

ethanol does not burn good in cars.

Answer 3

We can, but we must use a cottage industry approach. Every roof top in America must have a greenhouse on top of it, and everyone must contribute to the conversion. It doesn't matter how much it costs, or how much you have to change your life, we cannot continue to line the pockets of barbaric thugs, because we want to go to the beach every other weekend. The change you are talking about could take decades, or it could be forced out of necessity in a few years, how much will you be willing to pay to fill up your vehicle?

Answer 4

Ethanol is not the answer .  If you took all the food grains in America and turned them into alcohol you would only have enough fuel for a month or to of everybody driving .  Starving to death for a month of driving doesn't sound like fun to me .  Industrial fermentation takes energy.  Almost as much as much as the ethanol produced .  If it were not for the tax brakes and political requirements ethanol wouldn't be in any vehicle .  Check the octane ratings of e85 .  Check the octane rating of ethanol by itself .  If you want to put OPEC out of business get rid of the suvs and buy a fuel efficient car .  Better yet buy a hybrid .  When all electric cars come out buy one of those .  That will make us energy independent .

Answer 5

You can run on 100% ethanol but some modifications need to be done. That is if a carburettor is used. I don't know about fuel injection. Some figures have already come out stating that it takes the same amount of corn to fill a SUV as it takes to feed one person for a year. In my view, biofuel is not the answer. Too costly to produce and will only drive up the price of food.

I thought biofuel was suppose to reduce carbon emission but when you ferment corn CO2 is produced. When you burn fuel CO2 is produced so where is the advantage?

I distill my own alcohol (ethanol) for making my own spirits and the gas coming off during fermentation is CO2.

The only way we could hurt OPEC would be to go 100% ethanol.

Answer 6

.The ad is misleading from the price standpoint. All arguments aside, the overriding consideration is that ethanol is produced from a RENEWABLE source, oil is not. Ethanol is cleaner and the technology to increase yields is coming.Oil will always get more expensive to extract from the earth and causes much more harm to the environment

Answer 7

we cant use alcohol because it will not just be bad for the environment but it will mess up your car faster