Distilling ethanol can be a tricky and highly precise business, but Floyd S. Butterfield and Thomas J. Quinn claim to have created a backyard ethanol distillery that turns sugar and yeast to a fuel that is clean enough to fill a gas tank with. According to Quinn, the cost of fuel produced by the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler is approximately $1 per gallon; cheap enough to strike fear into an oil baron’s heart.
The technology that makes it all possible is a membrane filtration system that allows ethanol to be distilled at a much lower temperature. Sugar is used as fuel for distillation as it creates little to no unpleasant odor; though it should be pointed out that Quinn and Butterfield are also working on a model that uses feed stock other than sugar.
While there are skeptics about, Quinn, who also patented the Wii’s motion sensor technology, is certain that his $10,000 contraption has the right stuff but there are a few hurdles that will need to be overcome. Firstly, there is the cost of sugar. Buying North American sugar would not lead to any significant savings; in order to save on sugar it will be necessary to import sugar from Mexico. E-fuel has plans to establish a distribution network within the United States. The other obstacle is regulatory, in the United States; it is not legal to operate a vehicle on 100% ethanol.
If it does everything ends up going Quinn’s way, however, then this is an idea with massive potential. $10,000 is a lot of outlay, but when you consider the price of gas now and the price that it could potentially reach, it would be a small price to pay. [New York Times]
Tags: biofuel, cars, environmentally-friendly, ethanol
25 responses
MicroFueler Fuels Your Car With Homebrewed Ethanol
Apr 27, 2008 at 12:07 pm
[...] uberreview.com [...]
Apr 27, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Just in time. With record low prices in food stuff around the world, the time is ripe to use sugar and other goods that would normally be used to feed people to run your car :-]
It only is economical using cast-off sugar from Mexico. The carbon emission claims (1/8th of gas) are only true if you ignore the energy used to grow and harvest the feedstock and only count the energy consumed by the still.
May 1, 2008 at 1:46 pm
The carbon emission claims (1/8th of gas) are only true if you ignore the energy used to grow and harvest the feedstock and only count the energy consumed by the still.
Do the gasoline figures account for the energy to pump oil out of the ground and used by refineries to make gasoline from crude oil? (not to mention transportation footprint to the pump, since this is a “home” item) If not, then I don’t see how it’s “fair” to factor such costs against this device. There may be larger problems with a sudden sugar demand (look at corn and food prices right now), but it seems kind of petty to argue the carbon cost of production of the raw materials.
May 11, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Would like to keep up on your invention.
May 11, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I am very interested in your new procedure to make Ethanol. Please send details.
May 11, 2008 at 9:58 pm
470lbs of sugar to product 35 gallons at 1.50 per gallon would mean that sugar would have to cost $.11/lb I can’t find wholesale sugar for less that $.50 which means $7/gallon. So where can you buy sugar for $.10/lb
MICROFUELER PUTS GAS PUMP IN YOUR GARAGE | Car Club Blog
May 12, 2008 at 11:19 pm
[...] up offering any number of possible solutions to the gas price dilemma. One such invention is the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler. Hat tip to CS Magor at Uber Review for the tip on this nifty [...]
May 13, 2008 at 11:14 am
I am interested in the products please send information to me thank you Wayne
May 13, 2008 at 7:31 pm
The only problem with high ethanol feuls is that if they are not completly burned in the cylinder, the ethanol oxides to acetic acid (vinegar), and this will corrode the exhaust system. There is always a lot of unburned feul going down the exhaust, which is why we have exhaust gas recirulation systems in all cars. Some oil companies have a 10% ethanol fuel in their gas stations. Just need a teflon lined exhaust system to correct this problem. Then the exhaust system will last the life of the car
May 14, 2008 at 9:36 am
In India we have plenty of molases availble a biproduct in sugar mills.I think this can be substituted for sugar to make it more viable.
May 14, 2008 at 8:33 pm
sent me the price and info
May 15, 2008 at 12:29 am
Will it be permitted in India? and What about the Availability trems in India?
May 21, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I WOULD LIKE MORE INFO BUT WERE CAN YOU GET SUGAR SO CHEAP AND IF NOT YOU SHOULD INVENT ONE WERE WE CAN USE CORN THAT WOULD BE CHEAPER
May 21, 2008 at 5:04 pm
i have just seen your add on the news if this truly works it will be a god send .please send me moore info
May 21, 2008 at 5:05 pm
send more info
May 24, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I have written two books in Australia on producing ethanol for home brewers and would be interested in more details especially on the distillation plant. I was interested in the distillation plant that Floyd Butterfield developed but I have been unable to contact him. My interest is in continuous distillation for the home or farm for automobile use. Any information would be appreciated.
May 26, 2008 at 1:22 am
I am interested in dealership. Can this product permited in India. Can we use pure ethenol in petrol engine. Send me details.
Jun 9, 2008 at 10:42 am
Gregg, corn based Ethenol is responsible for our soring food costs now.. It is stupid to burn food for fuel. We need another alternative. How about, for the time being, release a million gals from the SOR, and start drilling in Alaska. The People of Alaska are sueing the Fed. Gov’t because they WANT to drill..they know it won’t affect the enviro.. And we need more nuclear power, until we can make solar & wind more effective..
Aug 4, 2008 at 6:03 am
Processed sugar is a very uneconomical way to produce ethanol. and 10 grand is an outrageous price to pay for a device to create ethanol. A small home distillery can be built for less than $1,000 bucks. There is also a huge market for “distillers grain” which is the by product of ethanol distillation from corn or other starch and sugar bearing vegitation. I currently produce about 500 gallons of ethanol per month. I use solar heat and electricity produced from a micro hydro electric plant to power the distillation plant. After selling the distillers grain to local livestock farmers my net cost for ethanol is less than $1.00 per gallon.
Aug 8, 2008 at 10:26 am
Bently Parish’s idea of using corn is good,but in India home distillation is illegal lest ehonal may be consumed as alcohal.Better explore other alternatives like solar and compressed air.
Jul 9, 2009 at 5:27 am
I recently was invited on board with DeAnza Fuel Group, who is working with E-Fuel in the Midwest. If you watch the video on http://www.microfueler.com, you will hear Tom Quinn Mention us at the end of his speech. We are responsible for finding and setting up the initial dealers and distributors of the MicroFueler launch, from Wisconsin and Michigan all the way down to Florida. It is a huge territory.
There are multiple sources of feedstock from which ethanol can be made. It is incorrect to think you have to go buy a bunch of sugar at the grocery store. We are exploring our options and pursuing relationships with businesses and other entities that can provide the organic waste we will use in our distribution networks, which I will explain. Think breweries, bottling companies, vineyards, soft drink companies, just to name a few beverages, let alone foods, waste, crops, and more.
Many people are baffled by the claim of $1/gallon E100, so let me explain how the MicroFuelers will be offered. When purchased from the dealer, your unit will have two options of service.
1. Self-serve. You find your own sources of feedstock/organic waste. You dispose of your waste materials. Your unit is maintained by the dealer through the GPS network. Estimate: 10-25 cents/gallon.
2. Full-service. We will utilize a network of recycling centers and dealers. The centers will secure vast amounts of feedstock and will accomplish half of the fermentation and distillery process in-house (easier for the customer, and more than doubles the daily production in gallons of the unit). The dealers will deliver the organic material to the individual units, and remove the waste materials, when notified of the need by the unit itself through the GPS network. The customer will pay a certain price per gallon to the dealer for every gallon pumped from the unit. As explained on the website, E-Fuel’s participation in the carbon credit program, among other incentives and things we are working on, will allow them to discount the price per gallon, resulting in an estimated $1/gallon.
And when discussing the price of the unit, you cannot overlook the 50% tax credit.
Ex: $10,000 MicroFueler becomes $5,000 MicroFueler.
Again, right now we are looking for dealers/distributors to come on board in the Midwest. Once they are in place, those interested in the unit will be able to get one, or however many you wish.
I am excited to get my own, as well as the add-on that will supply electricity for my home!
Jul 10, 2009 at 8:40 am
re: comments of R.P.R.Reddy
I personally dont use corn. Although corn can be used where it is plentiful, sugar cane , sorgum, and sugar beets will all produce 10 to 15 x more ethanol per acre than corn. Fuel ethanol in thy USA is denatured with 5% gasoline, benzene. penthane or other similar substance that will make unfit for human consumption. I expect india has similar regulations. If I am correct India is one of the largest sugar producers in the world. The mollasses that are a by product of sugar production will ferment ethanol very nicely.
others have commented on the carbon footprint of ethanol. The fact is that ethanol is 100% carbon neutral. It can only produce the same carbon it took from the air as the feedstock was grown. If the harvesting equipment burns ethanol, as well as the transport vehicles ethanol is carbon neutral. The heat requirements to distill the ethanol can come from solar and hydro electric power.
In 50 years or so we will all be using hydrogen fuel which has no carbon at all, but until that technology is viable ethanol is our best choice.
Richard has a nice dream to turn a tidy profit for himself, but his calculations need some work.
Jul 11, 2009 at 11:23 am
re: comments of Bwntley Parish
Thank you for the insight, but I’m confused by your last line.
“Richard has a nice dream to turn a tidy profit for himself, but his calculations need some work.”
1. I don’t know what calculations you’re referring to, since I didn’t include any. All I spoke about was the projected price, which is from E-Fuel.
2. Concerning the profit for “myself”, I’m working with E-Fuel, just not directly for them. And the plan is not my idea. It’s being worked out by DeAnza Fuel Group and E-Fuel. Part of my reason for sharing was the high number of requests for more information on the unit, on buying the unit, and for possibly being a dealer. We’re here, we heard you, and we’re ready to go.
Again, you had some great info, and thanks for sharing.
Jul 11, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I was referring to your micro fueler calculations. Judging from the size of your machine, at most you have a 20 to 25 gal fermenting tank. under perfect conditions that will net you 2 to 2.5 gal of ethanol every 4 days…..you wont drive very far on that.
I have seen pics and drawings of your machine and at best you are going to realistically get 3 gallons a week.
the waste products you refer to. Vinyards get about 6,000 per acre for grapes that don’t measure up for wine making…that cost is for grapes in the field…youhave to pay for harvesting as well. Bad batches of wine are distilled by the vinyards themselves and use the ethanol to bolster the alcohol level of their “table grade” wines.
Brewery by products have already been fermented and the ethanol product “beer” is sold by them. the leftover distillers grain has less than 1% fermentable sugars left in it. by the time you transport enough low grade feedstock to produce enough first run ethanol (20 to 25 % alcohol) and then transport it to your customers you and your partners will have over 2.00 per gallon in a 25% alcohol soloution.
If you figure a 10.000 gallon payout on your machine , thats another 1 dollar per gallon cost to the customer before adding their energy costs and time involved in producing the refined alcohol.
I believe you are a sincere person who believes in what you are doing….but….please check out your calculations for feedstock costs and avalibility. the cost of producing first run ethanol.
I’m not trying to rain on your parade, but I think you are opening yourself up for scam and fraud accusations because there is no way you can deliver at the costs you are promising.
I have been an industrial engineer for 35+ years. It is a part of my job to design process and the necessary equipment to produce a product. The whole process starts with a feasability study and an in depth cost analysis to determine true costs, length of time to payout for x amount of product produced and sold before beginning to get a ROI (return on investment)
If you feel that I am trying to be mean spirited and give you a hard time….I’m not. I am trying to offer you some sound advise before you get in too far over your head.
We need individuials ( like you) who are willing to step up and do something about the economical and ecological crisis we are facing. I wish you the very best of luck
Jul 12, 2009 at 1:27 am
Thank you for the kudos and luck at the very end.
I need to correct you on some major things, because I am no where near the vicinity of claiming things we can’t do.
Here are some point that may not be in order. It will be good to explain that the lead guy for DeAnza Fuel Group is already well involved with sugar-based ethanol and has for years been doing several of the things I will highlight.
1. Many, many companies PAY per ton to have their bacteria-laden “waste” hauled off. We already make money charging people less then what they paid before. We are PAID to haul away the organic waste that will produce the ethanol. The relationships are already there, and working.
2. The MicroFueler has a separate 250 gallon fermenting tank, and you can attach up to four of those to one unit. Optimal production is 40 gallons per day.
3. Optimal production is only reached if the customer is part of the full-service plan. The plan involves pre-processed feedstock up to a 50% level that is then distributed by dealers to the customers. Think 125 gallons of E100, and 125 gallons of mucky water in the end. On the self-serve plan, the customers find their own sources, which would be around the 15-20% level, like you said.
This whole thing has been in the works for a while, and the people behind it are very wise and very wealthy, and very wealthy because they are very wise. I am only a messenger, and no where near the brains. I appreciate your comments, and wanted to explain further.
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