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Home-brewed fuels gaining popularity among consumers

By Claude Haton

As fuel prices continue to rise with no solution in sight, individual entrepreneurs are taking the bull by the horns to create their own answer.

Diesel drivers may already know they can burn vegetable oil in their vehicles with a few modifications, as waste vegetable oil (WVO) can often be collected for free.

And there are more veggie fuelers around than you might think. The governor of California is one. In fact, recently published articles reveal that Arnold Schwarezenegger has been cited for failing to pay the 18 cents per gallon road tax in his own state for his converted diesel Hummer. He was trying to set an example for Californians by modifying his personal vehicle, and is now looking to ease requirements for burning vegetable fuels there.

Issues surrounding the legality of using WVO are complicated. One area convert, who prefers to remain anonymous because of legality issues concerning the burning of WVO by the Environmental Protection Agency (technically it is illegal and carries a fine of $2,750, but apparently the EPA is not pressing the issue), runs his passenger car and two work trucks on WVO.

There’s a bit of work involved, but with diesel fuel hovering around $4.40 a gallon, the effort is well worth it, he said.

But you can’t use just any oil. Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fuels are out for the same reason they’ve been outlawed in New York state for consumption by humans. Sludge buildup.

“The same stuff that clogs people’s arteries,” our source noted.

“There is a bit of work connected with burning WVO, which must first be filtered to remove residual food particles,” he said. Special filters are available but, “a Blue Jean pant leg will work just fine.”

Incidentally, early diesel engines were originally designed to run on a variety of fuels, including vegetable oil, when invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel in 1892. The vegetable oil solution was intended for use in remote parts of the world where petroleum was scarce, according to Pacific Biodiesel’s Web site. The French used peanut oil because of its high energy content.

Tests have shown that vegetable oils also burn much cleaner than petroleum-based fuels.

Burning WVO requires a two tank system, since the engine must be started and shut down on diesel.

Web sites abound on the Internet offering conversion kits for running vegetable oil in diesel engines. While our subject has spent about $5,000 converting his vehicles, the cost savings he has achieved have made the move well worth it.

“And any diesel mechanic can put this kit in,” he said.

Hope for the rest of us

Owners of gasoline-powered vehicles have also been held hostage by the major fuel suppliers. Even E-85, the somewhat cheaper ethanol-based alternative, is hard to come by.

But there’s change in the wind. A west coast inventor named Floyd Butterfield recently unveiled his portable MicroFueler, a story covered by a variety of major publications including the New York Times. The unit combines ordinary yeast and sugar to make ethanol. The device is pricey at $10,000, but federal and state renewable fuels tax and rebate incentives may bring the price down to between $5,000 and $7,000, according to varying sources.

The home fueling unit can produce 35 gallons of ethanol per week for as little as $1 per gallon, and can even use waste beer to bring the costs down even lower. Butterfield estimates that the device will pay for itself within two years as long as fuel costs stay above $3.60 per gallon.

Butterfield and his partner Thomas Quinn (who helped market the hard disk drive for computers and more recently patented the motion sensor technology for the Wii computer game) claim to be able to put customers in contact with suppliers south of the border to purchase “inedible sugar.” They sell the stuff for three to four cents per pound.

Butterfield is no stranger to alcohol production. Previously published reports reveal that in 1982, he won an award from the state of California for best ethanol still design. Back then there wasn’t a market for his technology, but now, maybe there is.

Buyers will need a permit to brew their own alcohol, though, which are available through the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Trade Bureau.

Not so fast

There are other considerations. Since cars are not designed to burn straight ethanol, modifications will need to be made to some cars. Another solution might be mixing a percentage of gasoline with the alcohol, similar to what is used in E-85 fuel.

Ethanol 85, or E-85, contains 85 percent ethanol (another name for alcohol) and 15 percent gasoline. Not all cars can utilize it, but flex fuel cars can.

Automakers have been offering flex fuel cars for years, designed to tolerate a high alcohol content (alcohol can dissolve certain components of the fuel system) and many owners of such vehicles may not be aware of their vehicle’s fuel flexibility.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority estimates there are nearly 200,000 flex fuel cars registered in New York state.

All vehicles made from about the mid-1980s-on can tolerate some ethanol. You’ll notice that gas pumps these days have stickers informing motorists of a 10 percent ethanol content in gasoline. You’ve probably noticed no ill effect, but higher concentrations of ethanol can corrode certain portions of the fuel system. Older vehicles need an upgrade to burn ethanol, but that can be done for about $400 or less.

Some cars can burn straight ethanol, but must be properly equipped to do so. The Indy Racing League has been allowing nothing but pure alcohol to power race cars at all its events for more than two years now. “Alky” burning stock and drag cars (and motorcycles) have been in existence since the 1950s.

Henry Ford is said to have advocated home-brewed alcohol fuel for the Model T when gasoline refining was in its infancy.

Currently, burning 100 percent alcohol is illegal in many states, but the entrepreneurs say that will be resolved soon. One way around it might be as simple as adding water. The inventors claim the brew is so strong that you can add 25 percent water to the mix and your car will run just fine.

Butterfield’s company, E-Fuels, is taking advance orders on the MicroFueler, which will be shipped to buyers before the year is out.

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