Make Your Own Ethanol: $1/gallon Homebrew Machine?

Ah, the lure of cheap fuel. The latest innovation comes from E-Fuel Corporation in nearby Los Gatos, CA. The company claims to be on the verge of releasing a portable, ethanol distiller than you can use at home. The key ingredient in this plan? Sugar and plenty of it. It takes around 14 pounds of sugar to net 1 gallon of ethanol. Given that bulk sugar currently sells for around 20 cents a pound, E-Fuel is going to have to find a cheaper source of the powdery good stuff. E-Fuel says that they are working on sources inedible sugar from Mexico that it could distribute for far less. Add to the expense of sugar the cost of yeast, water and electricity and you've got even more to overcome. E-Fuel's machine can also convert waste alcohol, but unless you are a fraternity exactly how much "waste alcohol" do you have lying around your house?

There are other hurdles besides the cost of the feedstock. For example under most applications it's illegal to run a car on 100 percent ethanol here in the USA. Even to use E85 85/15 ethanol/gasoline mix, your vehicle must be flex fuel capable. That means most vehicle owners would be looking at either using E10 10/90 ethanol/gasoline mix or face an expensive conversion process. You also need to get a federal license to produce alcohol, but supposedly the Feds hand out those licenses without much fuss.

The EFuel100 has a list price of $9,995 and should start shipping this fall. Tax credits could lower the cost somewhat. At peak performance, the device could produce up to 35 gallons of ethanol a week.

I'm really not sold on this idea quite yet. I suppose if the low cost sugar did materialize, you had a flex fuel vehicle in hand and didn't mind all the hassle in making sure that you were getting the proper ratio of ethanol/gasoline (keeping in mind that the gasoline you pump may already have some ethanol in it) into your car then it "might" be worth trying. I still wouldn't want to be an early adopter of this technology. It may be a noble effort and I'm certainly glad that folks are looking into alternatives, but unless I'm missing something, there seems to be too many unknowns/risks/hassles involved.

sources: Scientific American, NY Times, E-Fuel Corporation