# Make your own ethanol from kitchen scraps **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 2, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604 "2006-02-02T00:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/1 "2006-02-02T00:34:28Z")
http://running\_on\_alcohol.tripod.com/id36.html Anyone trying this at home? Make your own gas? Is it practical? Given George’s speech last night, what incentives are (should) be introduced for individuals to do this, or for small companies to produce machines that allow people to do this on their own? ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/2 "2006-02-02T00:50:23Z")
It just seems like a real waste to pour perfectly good ethanol into a car. My Uncle Ralph would turn over in his grave. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/3 "2006-02-02T00:56:12Z")
Isn’t making alcohol without a license illegal in the US? Or is there a “for human consumption” clause that comes into effect? ---
**Author:** ![deevee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@deevee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deevee)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/4 "2006-02-02T00:56:51Z")
AFAIK home manufacture of ethyl alcohol is illegal. The revenuers will git ya. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/5 "2006-02-02T01:00:25Z")
according to this guy, its not difficult to be legal. And, 200 proof ethanol ISNT for human consumption. Fuel only. http://running\_on\_alcohol.tripod.com/id10.html ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/6 "2006-02-02T01:00:36Z")
I’ve often wondered if it were practical and efficent if you use your home furnace, which would be running anyway, to distill the alcohol, making the distilation basically free. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/7 "2006-02-02T01:03:33Z")
Of course, heat that is “cheap as free” can come from woodgas…a woodgas cookstove for example. [www.woodgas.com](http://www.woodgas.com) ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/8 "2006-02-02T01:25:01Z")
> [@deevee](#): > > AFAIK home manufacture of ethyl alcohol is illegal. The revenuers will git ya. They never got Uncle Ralph. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/9 "2006-02-02T01:26:15Z")
> [@mrrealtime](#): > > according to this guy, its not difficult to be legal. And, 200 proof ethanol ISNT for human consumption. Fuel only. I was unde the impression that it is night impossible to actually keep 200 proof (100%) alcohol because it evaporates so readily. Wouldn’t it be more like 190 proof? ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/10 "2006-02-02T02:48:10Z")
Its imposible to distill ethanol past 190 proof. 200 proof ethanol comes from other chemical processes such as azeotroping off the water with benzene. The reason 200 proof alcohol is not for human consumption, is that it has contaminants such as benzene. 200 proof alcohol will pick up water on standing though I don’t know if it will significantly change the concentration. I don’t think 200 proof alcohol evaporates any faster than 190 proof. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/11 "2006-02-02T03:01:45Z")
That is correct, I understand you need to dehydrate\* the ethanol past 180 proof to get it pure enough to use for fuel in flex fuel vehicles. Again the question is, is anyone (or is anyone aware of someone) creating ethanol for fuel either as a supplement or main fuel source, and is there government incentives to do so, particularly given George Bush’s speech about the US “addiction to mid east oil”? From http://running\_on\_alcohol.tripod.com/id36.html : > [@](#): > > - a process called a molecular sieve. I know this sounds technical, but it is pretty simple, and cheap, too. A sieve is a strainer. The finer the screen, the finer the final product will be, as when you are sifting flower to remove any clumps or large particles. You can buy Zeolyle, which is a granulated product that will absorb water but not the slightly larger ethanol molecules. You need to specify that you want to buy the 3 A size (3 angstrom), as this is what you need for making 200 proof ethanol. Buy Type 3A in 10lb bags (looks like a small pea gravel) it is only a couple of bucks and it works very well to dehydrate the ethanol. We mix about 5 lbs in a 5 gallon can and let it sit with the ethanol overnight and pour the dehydrated ethanol through a screen, into another can the next day. To get the water out of the zeolite we just broil it on the backyard grill - it is reusable indefinitely. Or, you can dry it in the sun by spreading it on a tarp in the summer months. > [http://www.thomasregister.com/olc/adcoa/molecula.htm](http://www.thomasregister.com/olc/adcoa/molecula.htm) ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/12 "2006-02-02T14:58:44Z")
> [@mrrealtime](#): > > That is correct, I understand you need to dehydrate\* the ethanol past 180 proof to get it pure enough to use for fuel in flex fuel vehicles. Again the question is, is anyone (or is anyone aware of someone) creating ethanol for fuel either as a supplement or main fuel source, and is there government incentives to do so, particularly given George Bush’s speech about the US “addiction to mid east oil”? In the midwest, it is very hard to find a gas station that doesn’t have ethanol blended gas available at the pump. Ethanol does already recieve large subsidies. [Here is the Great Cecil’s take on it.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/031128.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/13 "2006-02-02T14:59:33Z")
…and in any case, don’t most manufacturers of for-sale ethanol “denature” it with methanol to avoid being taxed/regulated as potable alcohol makers? Would denaturing ethanol with methanol (around 1% or so) after you make it still run you into problems with the law, and would the denatured alcohol still be able to run in ethanol-ready engines? ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2006, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/14 "2006-02-02T23:00:46Z")
> [@mrrealtime](#): > > http://running\_on\_alcohol.tripod.com/id36.html > [http://www.thomasregister.com/olc/adcoa/molecula.htm](http://www.thomasregister.com/olc/adcoa/molecula.htm) Neither of your links seem to work which is unfortunate because I’m interested in that molecular sieve. ---
**Author:** ![mrrealtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@mrrealtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrrealtime)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/15 "2006-02-04T01:24:35Z")
this might work: > **[Thomasnet® - Product Sourcing and Supplier Discovery Platform - Find North...](https://www.thomasnet.com/)** > > Thomasnet.com is the leading product sourcing and supplier discovery platform for procurement professionals, engineers, plant & facility management and business owners seeking trusted suppliers for MRO, OEM and other products/services for their... ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/16 "2006-02-04T03:12:37Z")
> [@mrrealtime](#): > > according to this guy, its not difficult to be legal. And, 200 proof ethanol ISNT for human consumption. Fuel only. http://running\_on\_alcohol.tripod.com/id10.html Aside from the legal issues: From kitchen scraps you will have to run a neighborhood garbage for the game to be worth the chase. Then add the complexities of a fractionation column to get to 200 proof. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/make-your-own-ethanol-from-kitchen-scraps/342604/17 "2006-02-04T04:44:04Z")
> [@deevee](#): > > AFAIK home manufacture of ethyl alcohol is illegal. The revenuers will git ya. Well, of course you can brew beer or make wine, both of which make low concentrations of ethyl alcohol legally. Not that you can then go and pour your beer in the gas tank. I believe the legal problems come in distillation. Plus, fermentation results in lots of other alcohols. You’d have to do a lot of careful distilling to get me to drink your bathtub vodka.