The EFuel100 MicroFueler™ is the world's first portable ethanol micro-refinery system; it replaces the traditional ethanol reflux column system with a solid state distillation technology, making it possible for homeowners and small businesses to safely and cost-effectively create their own fuel, on-site.
The E-Fuel Corporation's technological breakthrough significantly reduces the size and weight of traditional fermentation and distillation systems needed to produce ethanol. Dedicated to the "produce where you consume" energy model, E-Fuel allows consumers to produce ethanol at the point of consumption, eliminating many problems associated with large-scale ethanol production, namely inefficient transportation and distribution, and the use of coal-fired electrical plants.
How It Works
The MicroFueler is both a pump station and an ethanol distiller reduced to an appliance-sized unit. The pump operation has the same user-friendly LCD interface found at most gas stations. This remarkable product uses micro sensors and state-of-the-art membrane technology, which keeps the unit size small and combustion free. And to further simplify the distillation process for consumers, the MicroFueler uses sugar instead of starches, which cuts the distillation period considerably.
To operate simply load EFuel100 feedstock (table sugar with ethanol yeast mix) into the fermentation tank and select the fermentation option on the control panel to begin the process. It will take between 10lbs to 14lbs of sugar to produce 1 gallon of ethanol. The MicroFueler is capable of producing 5 gallons of ethanol per day once fermentation is complete.
Discarded Alcohol Recovery Mode
The MicroFueler has a distillation-only mode, which allows the consumer to convert discarded beer, wine or distilled drinks into ethanol--any combination of discarded alcohol can be poured directly into the MicroFueler fermentation tank to be converted into ethanol. Caution should be taken not to allow any discarded impurities, such as dirt or debris, to enter the fermentation tank which could clog or harm the future operation of the MicroFueler system. This can be achieved by passing the liquid through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to filter unwanted particles before they can enter into the MicroFueler distillation tank.
The cost for processing discarded liquor can run as low as $0.10 per gallon of ethanol produced. A typical bar or restaurant discards thousands of gallons of alcohol annually! Beer and wine beverages can yield between 5 to 20 percent ethanol and distilled drinks upwards of 40% ethanol for liquor. Even greater benefit may be seen by wineries, breweries and distilled spirits refineries where it is not uncommon to discard over a million gallons of alcohol per year. Truly, an untapped market for E-Fuel customers!
About Ethanol
Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. As a fuel, it is a biofuel alternative to gasoline, and is widely used in cars in Brazil. Because it is easy to manufacture and process, and can be made from very common materials such as sugar cane, it is steadily becoming a promising alternative to gasoline throughout much of the world.
Anhydrous ethanol (ethanol with less than 1% water) can be blended with gasoline in varying quantities up to pure ethanol (E100), and most new spark-ignited gasoline style engines will operate well with mixtures up to 65% ethanol (E65) or 100% ethanol (E100) with ethanol converter installed. Most cars on the road today in the U.S. are running on blends of up to 10% ethanol, and the use of 10% ethanol gasoline is mandated in some cities to reduce harmful levels of auto emissions.
Production
Ethanol can be mass-produced by the fermentation of sugar. Current interest in ethanol mainly lies in bio-ethanol, which is produced from the starch or sugar found in a wide variety of crops. It is considered "renewable" because it is primarily the result of conversion of the sun's energy into usable energy. Creation of ethanol starts with photosynthesis: feedstock plants like corn, sugarcane and switchgrass using the sun�s light to grow. These feedstocks are then processed into ethanol.
The basic steps for large scale production of ethanol are: microbial (yeast) fermentation of sugars, distillation, dehydration (requirements vary, see Ethanol fuel mixtures, below), and denaturing (optional). Prior to fermentation, some crops require saccharification or hydrolysis of carbohydrates such as cellulose and starch into sugars. Saccharification of cellulose is called cellulolysis (see cellulosic ethanol). Enzymes are used to convert starch into sugar.
Ethanol fermentation
Ethanol is produced by microbial fermentation of the sugar. Production of ethanol from sugarcane returns about 8 units of energy for each unit expended compared to corn which only returns about 1.34 units of fuel energy for each unit of energy expended.
Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is emitted during fermentation and combustion. However, this is canceled out by the greater uptake of carbon dioxide by the plants as they grow to produce the biomass. When compared to gasoline, depending on the production method, ethanol releases less or even no greenhouse gases.
Distillation
For ethanol to be usable as a fuel, water must be removed. Most of the water is removed by distillation, but the purity is limited to 95-96% due to the formation of a low-boiling water-ethanol azeotrope. The 95.6% m/m (96.5% v/v) ethanol, 4.4% m/m (3.5% v/v) water mixture may be used as a fuel alone, but unlike anhydrous ethanol, is immiscible in gasoline. As a result, the water fraction is typically removed through further treatment in order that it may burn when combined with gasoline in gasoline engines.
Fuel economy
Groundbreaking Study Finds that Certain Ethanol Blends can Provide Better Fuel Economy than Gasoline
"Optimal Blend" Is Likely E20 or E30;
Coalition Calls for Further Government Research
Sioux Falls, SD (December 5, 2007)--Research findings released today show that mid-range ethanol blends--fuel mixtures with more ethanol than E10 but less than E85--can in some cases provide better fuel economy than regular unleaded gasoline, even in standard, non-flex vehicles.
Previous assumptions held that ethanol's lower energy content directly correlates with lower fuel economy for drivers. Those assumptions were found to be incorrect. Instead, the new research strongly suggests tht there is an "optimal blend level" of ethanol and gasoline--most likely E20 or E30--at which cars will get better mileage than predicted based strictly on the fuel's per-gallon Btu content. The new study, cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), also found that mid-range ethanol blends reduce harmful tailpipe emissions.
"Inital findings indicate that we as a nation haven't begun to recognize the value of ethanol," said Brian Jennings, executive vice president of the American Coalition for Ethanol. "This is a compelling argument for more research on the promise of higher ethanol blends in gasoline. There is strong evidence that the optimal ethanol-gasoline blend for standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles is greater than E10 and instead may be E20 or E30. We encourage the federal government to move swiftly to research the use of higher ethanol blends and make necessary approvals so that American motorists can have the cost-effective ethanol choices they deserve at the pump."
The University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and the Minnesota Center for Automotive Research (MnCAR) conducted the reserch using four 2007 model vehicles: a Toyota Camry, a Ford Fusion, and two Chevrolet Impalas, one flex-fuel and one non-flex-fuel. Researchers used the EPA Highway Fuel Economy Test (HWFET) to examine a range of ethanol-gasoline blends from straight Tier 2 gasoline up to 85 percent ethanol. All of the vehicles got better mileage with ethanol blends than the ethanol's energy content would predict, and three out of four actually traveled farther on a mid-level gasoline blend than on unleaded gasoline.
In addition to the favorable fuel economy findings, the research provides strong evidence that standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles can operate on ethanol blends beyond 10 percent. The three non-flex-fuel vehicles tested operated on levels as high as E65 before any engine fault codes were displayed. Emissions results for the ethanol blends were also favorable for nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and nonmethane organic gases, showing an especially significant reduction in CO2 emissions for each vehicle's "optimal" ethanol blend.
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Features & Benefits
Replaces the dangerous combustion heating elements used in commercial ethanol plants with a proprietary, patent pending, ethanol membrane distillation system, making the MicroFueler process a much safer way to produce ethanol
Portable and light weight design using ultra-tough polyurethane
Fifty-foot fueling retractable hose, nozzle and pump system
User-friendly LCD touch interface
Dual key electrical and mechanical pump locking system
Compatible with all sugar feedstock, including cane, beet, corn and cellulosic sugars
Discarded alcohol recovery mode which has the ability to produce ethanol from discarded alcohol
"Set-it-and-forget-it" distillation operation, no need for constant monitoring
E-Fuel engineers also made the strategic decision to have the MicroFueler ferment sugar, as opposed to starch grains or cellulosic feedstock that need to be converted into sugar or diluted alcohol. Not only does dry crystal sugar yield the best ethanol results, it also reduces the demand on water and power and diminishes byproduct odors and solid waste discharge.
