Pro's & Con's... Your opinions please

LeftLaneCruiser · Post by **LeftLaneCruiser** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 7:05 am

Hi All,

The last few months i've been thinking a lot (at a daily basis) about making a continuous column for the purpose of fuel-alcohol. The only that has kept me from actually building it is lack of time.

I have two options: converting the column i already have, or building a new one. I've got the materials lying around, so that won't be the problem.
Converting the existing column could be done by adding a feed-tube at ca. 1/3 the height wich can be closed with a valve, so it can also be used as a normal column.

The thing i was wondering is; what are the pro's and contra's of having a head, either cactus- or inline-model, on the column?

I figure that if the alcohol is going to be a fueladditive there is no worrying about separation of the methanol. And the copperpipes i've got are about 1,5 - 1,8 metres long. I reckon that gives me enough length to rely on natural occuring reflux to get a high abv.
So, the thing i'm leaning towards is to build a new column which doesn't has a column head, but runs into a (liebig)condenser straight from the top.

Any thoughts, suggestions or tips ?

KJH

Post by **Tater** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:21 pm

Dont know if this is any help heres and old mother earth artical http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_lib ... meCh7.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Post by **Grayson_Stewart** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 4:39 am

Depending on the amount of heat youo put into the boiler you might get the high purity you need with that length of column. I have a 5 cm diameter x 1.2 meters column with 1800 W and when fully packed and no reflux I get in the 165-170 proof range without reflux. If I went alot slower I may possibly get higher.

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 6:49 am

what's the purpose of your fuel?, what will drive with ethanol?
and what is/ will it be made of (corn, potatoes,...)

LeftLaneCruiser · Post by **LeftLaneCruiser** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 8:30 am

stoker wrote:what's the purpose of your fuel?, what will drive with ethanol?

with gasoline prices near € 1,40 and the taxes the Dutch government asks that isn't too hard a question to be answered

and what is/ will it be made of (corn, potatoes,...)

it'll be made of anything i can lay hands on cheap..

Check also other sources on the subject. The link Tater gave is a very good lead. And googeling around there is a lot to be found.

KJH

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 1:45 pm

[quote="stoker"]what's the purpose of your fuel?, what will drive with ethanol?[quote]

MOST of today's vehicles can run just fine off of ethanol.

Sugar Beets is a very cheap and easy source. 1 acre of sugar beets can produce up to 1200 gallons of ethanol in a year.

Corn isn't as efficient as people thought in the 70's . After you convert the starches to sugars, and ferment, you will not have nearly as high an alcohol content as you would if you fermented sugar beets.

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 9:09 am

with gasoline prices near € 1,40 and the taxes the Dutch government asks that isn't too hard a question to be answered

dutch? does your location mean 'friesland'? here in Belgium it's +-1.25€/l , not as dramatic as you said, but it's going the wrong direction
do you have to dehydratate it(ethanol) before use?

sugar beets from a local farmer?

rectifier · Post by **rectifier** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 3:44 pm

LLC, fuel runs usually go on for a LONG time. You will need some kind of cooling, or else your whole column will eventually heat up too much.

Mine is almost 2m tall, and it needs a decent amount of reflux feedback. I'd go with an offset so you can tweak it better. If you want to use as an additive you will have to run as pure as possible and then dehydrate it, or else the water will fall out when you mix it with gas - if you are going to run pure, you can tune it all the way down to ~80% and it will still burn, albeit steamy.