Ethanol Still - Discover How to Make an Ethanol Still
Many people are wanting to learn more and more about how they can make their own ethanol. Basically you will need two very important things. Corn and an ethanol still. Of course there are other grains that you can use aside from corn but corn just happens to be grown in more places and so is a little easier to access. With gasoline prices reaching all time highs once a month it seems, the thought of having your own ethanol still to make ethanol just seems like good logic.
People have been making ethanol for centuries in ethanol stills that they constructed out of what they had. The ethanol that we know today was actually created way back in 1796 by filtering distilled ethanol through charcoal. Johann Tobias Lowitz discovered this process and if he knew what he would be doing for so many people two hundred years later, I bet he would be thrilled. Actually he probably would have celebrated by drinking a little of his creation after it went through his ethanol still. Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, has been made in backyard ethanol stills for decades. But it had a different name then. Then it was referred to as moonshine, or by some, white lightening. Moonshine was illegal in the days of prohibition but that didn’t stop those who loved their brew. They would make an ethanol still and hide it in the woods so that it wouldn’t be discovered. Some were lucky and never got caught while others had to face jail time. Men of all ages would make moonshine runs with cars that had to be fast so that they could outrun the law if need be. How times have changed. And people always said that you could run a car on moonshine, I just thought they were joking. Who’s laughing now?
An ethanol still is a very important part in the making of ethanol. In days gone by people would put together any type of contraption they could so that they could make their homemade ethanol. Now ethanol stills have been perfected so that they do just what is needed. There is still some disagreements as to which material is better to use. A lot of people prefer to use copper for the ability it has to heat evenly all over. Others like to use stainless steel for its corrosion resistance with each party assured that their way is the best. A lot of commercial stills are made out of copper as they want the uniform heating ability that is necessary to make it the same each and every time.
The ethanol still is necessary to heat the corn mash mixture but once its job is complete the mixture will then be transferred to a fermenter that will allow the mash to ferment. This is the place that the ethanol is made. Fermentation is necessary for proper ethanol production.
Having an ethanol still is going to be something that more and more people will see necessary. Many are starting to feel the crunch of the high gas prices and soon will have to do something different in order to live like they have been accustomed to.
Allen Walker is a hard working american man who decided to do something about the high costs of gasoline that was affecting his life and family. He constructed his own ethanol still and now manufactures his own fuel from his backyard. You too can save money on gas by visiting his website www.ethanol-earth.com to learn how to make ethanol fuel.
Ethanol Still - Discover How to Make an Ethanol Still / Author: Sean Lee
