I'm having trouble...
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 7:54 pm
Hi all, I'm new to these boards. Anyway, my buddy and I want to make ethanol for a fuel to use in your average engine. So far, we have built a still, and tried distilling a few things. Now we know the process of getting fuel ethanol starts with something like corn and ends with burning liquid. But what we don't know is how to make corn (or anything else) into a distill-able subtance that will output ethanol. We want to try distilling lots of things, like corn, potatoes, sugar, apples, and other fruits and vegetables. From my research on this website and many others, I found out that we need to somehow mix each thing with yeast, and let it ferment for a few days, then distill it.
The still we made is just an aluminum pot, and on the lid, we have attached a 3 foot long (meter long) copper pipe, and at the top of the pipe, there is an elbow that connects to a long downward spiralling copper tubing. We put a lot of silicone around the rim of the lid, and let it dry overnight before we used the still, and we clamp the lid down, so no steam escapes the pot. And that's it.
Just today, we emptied a couple bottles of beer into the still and distilled it. The resulting liquid was clear and smelled like a mixture of alcohol and honey. But it didn't burn. I poured the substance onto a flat serface and put a burning match onto it, but it put it out. I also tried holding a burning match just over it (as you would light some liquors) but it also did not burn.
Also today, we started fermenting some wheat. Basically, we boiled some water, and dumped a package of powdered wheat and another package of whole grain wheat into the water with some sugar. We let it boil for about half an hour, then we let it cool down to 120 degrees F (the temperature the packets of yeast say to use them at) then we put three packets of yeast into it. Now, about 5 hours later, it's a foamy substance that keeps rising. We don't have a lid on the pan, nor are we controlling the temperature. Whatever it is, it smells like beer mixed with banana bread batter.
Oh, and in my research, I have found some mention of letting crops germinate and fermenting them before they finish growing or something like that. Because I live in Chicago, growing my own plants is just sort of out of the question, especially at this time of year. Even if I could use my back yard to grow corn or something, how could I get ethanol year-round? So whatever I use has to come from local fruit markets (luckily I live near a street with tons of fruit markets) and any supermarket or grocery store.
I was hoping if someone here could please explain to me, in simple terms, just how to take ears of corn and make them into something to distill, so my buddy and I can get some ethanol that would be good enough to run something like a snow blower engine. And don't worry about this engine, we have modified it before. Oh, and if there is something wrong with our still, please tell me. Thank you!
The still we made is just an aluminum pot, and on the lid, we have attached a 3 foot long (meter long) copper pipe, and at the top of the pipe, there is an elbow that connects to a long downward spiralling copper tubing. We put a lot of silicone around the rim of the lid, and let it dry overnight before we used the still, and we clamp the lid down, so no steam escapes the pot. And that's it.
Just today, we emptied a couple bottles of beer into the still and distilled it. The resulting liquid was clear and smelled like a mixture of alcohol and honey. But it didn't burn. I poured the substance onto a flat serface and put a burning match onto it, but it put it out. I also tried holding a burning match just over it (as you would light some liquors) but it also did not burn.
Also today, we started fermenting some wheat. Basically, we boiled some water, and dumped a package of powdered wheat and another package of whole grain wheat into the water with some sugar. We let it boil for about half an hour, then we let it cool down to 120 degrees F (the temperature the packets of yeast say to use them at) then we put three packets of yeast into it. Now, about 5 hours later, it's a foamy substance that keeps rising. We don't have a lid on the pan, nor are we controlling the temperature. Whatever it is, it smells like beer mixed with banana bread batter.
Oh, and in my research, I have found some mention of letting crops germinate and fermenting them before they finish growing or something like that. Because I live in Chicago, growing my own plants is just sort of out of the question, especially at this time of year. Even if I could use my back yard to grow corn or something, how could I get ethanol year-round? So whatever I use has to come from local fruit markets (luckily I live near a street with tons of fruit markets) and any supermarket or grocery store.
I was hoping if someone here could please explain to me, in simple terms, just how to take ears of corn and make them into something to distill, so my buddy and I can get some ethanol that would be good enough to run something like a snow blower engine. And don't worry about this engine, we have modified it before. Oh, and if there is something wrong with our still, please tell me. Thank you!