How to Home-Brew Ethanol (But Don't Do It!)

Ethanol, the fuel, is similar to ethanol, the social lubricant. It just has some gasoline added for extra kick. Don't ever get them mixed up - it's not good for you, or your car. Ethanol is a contraversial fuel - at the moment it's a very intensive process that may require more energy to make than is released in it's use. New developments are changing this, but it's certainly not the silver bullet that many people claim.

We previously covered the differences between biodeisel and ethanol, where we stated that, "if you're a do-it-yourselfer, biodiesel can be made at home." The same is also true for ethanol though, which Pop Sci prove with their recent how-to. The only thing is that it's very dangerous, and illegal. You could also run into problems with not paying tax on the fuel you use. In short, you can read how to do it, but please, don't.

It's actually a very easy process, "To make it, whether in home stills or factories, cornmeal is put in vats with water and enzymes that convert some of the corn to sugar. Yeast added to the "mash" converts the sugar to alcohol. In a few days, the alcohol concentration tops 10 percent and the yeast goes inactive, having, ironically, rendered its own environment toxic. Distillation increases the alcohol concentration: 50 percent is vodka, 95 percent is fuel." ::Pop Sci