GoodFuels

Governator Promotes Home Brewed Ethanol

Despite the fact that California’s Air Resources Board found corn ethanol to be worse than gasoline for the environment, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks making it at home from beer is a great solution for reducing greenhouse gasses.

During a ceremony on the steps of the state capitol last week, the governor unveiled the final production model of the world’s first home ethanol system, the E‐Fuel MicroFueler™.

“It takes what is essentially a byproduct of beer, something that would be normally thrown away and turns it into fuel. That means that drivers now can have their own MicroFueling Station at home,” said Schwarzenegger. “And what’s also special, is that this can produce up to 40 gallons a day.”

According to the E-Fuel website, “the MicroFueler supports a variety of organic fuel (waste) as feedstock to produce the E-Fuel100 ethanol. Substances rich in sugar, fermentable material, alcohol or even algae may be suitable for ethanol conversion. Under the new E-Fuel model, consumers will simply pay for the ethanol they pump and have no concern for obtaining and replenishing the organic fuel (waste) which is processed into ethanol. Servicing dealers will respond to status messages from the MicroFueler and replenish the organic fuel as need to insure constant availability of E-Fuel100 ethanol at the pump.” Retail cost for the system is $9995, plus $9.95 per month for connection to the E-Fuel Global Network.

The question is, just how practical is this for home use? The governor says California is exploring a pilot program using the MicroFuelers for the state’s fleet of E85 vehicle, which might be practical, but I wonder how many households would be in the market for the $10,000 personal ethanol pump. The pump actually produces 100 percent ethanol, which means the product will have to be mixed with regular gasoline for use in even flex-fuel vehicles.

The governator did have some nice things to say about ethanol during his speech. “Ethanol holds a promise of reducing the fuel costs, which is very important, because so many times we are all subject to the oil prices,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. And that is true - even if you don’t make it yourself.

Read and/or watch the governor’s speech here.