How Do You Make Ethanol
Alcohols like methanol and ethanol are being studied and experimented upon to be used as alternative fuels. In the face of oil crisis and increasing prices, people are using ethanol as fuel to run vehicles. It is a renewable fuel since it is made from plants and is cost effective. It is even easy to produce. Many are making ethanol at their homes! |
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There are multiple ways by which ethanol can be produced. The most popular way of making ethanol is from corn. This is because corn is available in plenty and doesn’t cost much to grow. Also, it sells at a very low price in the food market. Sugar cane and beet root are also used to produce ethanol. Mainly there are two methods employed in its manufacture; dry mill process and wet mill process. In America, the former process is very popular. In this, the starch from corn is fermented and then distilled to produce alcohol.
- If ethanol is to be made using dry mill process, first milling needs to be done. This is then followed up by liquefaction, fermentation, distillation. The end involves dehydration and denaturing.
- In the wet mill process, corn is first steeped, screened and separated. Then starch conversion takes place, followed by germ separation. Then drying, fermentation, syrup refining and oil refining of the germ takes place.
Yeast plays a very important role in the process of making ethanol. It is required for fermentation. The resulting product will be ethanol along with carbon dioxide. After this, distillation takes place. Distillation removes alcohol from the solid residue and water. Alcohol obtained has strength of 96%. Next step is to add a few drops of gasoline to it. Now the fuel has been made unfit for humans but is ready for consumption in vehicles.
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Ethanol output has resulted in a boom of corn and sugar cane stocks. Here are some interesting facts about ethanol and its production. 
