David Blume's Alcohol can be a gas! : fueling an ethanol revolution for the 21st century

Alcohol Can Be a Gas! is the only comprehensive book ever written on alcohol fuel production and use for home and farm. Until now, it has been very difficult for farmers, contractors, alternative energy aficionados, those concerned about Peak Oil, and small-scale entrepreneurs to obtain good, accurate information on producing alcohol, or on converting vehicles to run on alcohol fuel. And with all the conflicting news stories about ethanol, the public finds it difficult to sort fact from fiction. This text, which has been reviewed by scientists around the world, is the definitive reference work on alcohol fuel. Alcohol Can Be A Gas! contains 640 8-1/2 by 11 pages, with 514 charts, photos, and illustrations to reinforce the information-dense text. The book is geared for the nonscientific reader, but its 473 endnotes provide the technical foundation behind the accessible prose. A 700-word glossary and a 6300-entry index extend the book's usefulness. This book is the distilled essence of the most pertinent information ever assembled in one place on alcohol fuel, the technology that can help us finally become producers of almost limitless energy, instead of extractors of finite resources. How we produce our energy from here on out will determine how we govern ourselves and how we relate to nature and the environment; it will also create a sea change in where wealth concentrates. It will determine if the future is ruled by a small number of armed dictatorships backed by military and industrial interests (a cabal author David Blume likes to refer to as MegaOilron or the Oilygarchy), or if energy, and therefore power, is held by a diffusion of democratic entities, based on their ingenuity and ability to gather a portion of their daily solar income. As Blume writes in the Introduction to Alcohol Can Be a Gas!: "Various prospective publishers argued that putting all of this material into one large volume might scare off readers who just want a recipe book of how to make alcohol. They said, 'All this history and politics is fascinating, but aren't you afraid that including it in your how-to book would scare away some buyers?' 'Put it in a separate publication,' their marketing experts said. But in the final analysis, I decided that this book should be a complete tool kit to revolutionize our transportation energy system, combining a broad, sweeping vision with intricate detail. "I spent four years working on this book with a small team of researchers. I traveled all over the United States in search of the most up-to-date information. In frozen South Dakota, I talked to Orrie Swayze and his farmer and VFW buddies who are taking on the oil companies, and to alcohol combustion engineer and alcohol aviation expert, Jim Behnken. I went to Decatur, Illinois, to see the largest alcohol plant in the U.S., Archer Daniels Midland's 200-million-gallon-per-year plant. My travels also took me to Brazil to document the world's largest alcohol fuel program. "It took over 25 years to finally get this book to you. It represents the confidence of almost 30 people who collectively loaned more than $250,000 to see this project through. It's the most comprehensive book ever written about alcohol fuel. Its production has been a massive effort that has depended on the cooperation of hundreds of people who contributed both their knowledge and, more importantly, their experiences." Front......Page 1 The two-minute summary......Page 7 Dedication......Page 9 Warning! Disclaimer......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 11 About the author......Page 13 Table of contents......Page 15 List of figures......Page 24 Preface......Page 36 1983 Foreword......Page 38 Introduction......Page 42 Book 1. Understanding alcohol: Visions and solutions......Page 48 1. A history of alcohol......Page 49 2. Busting the myths......Page 63 3. The permaculture solution to fossil fuel dependency......Page 79 4. Darker visiones of our energy future......Page 91 5. Brazil......Page 109 Book 2. Making alcohol: How to do it......Page 115 6. Selecting feedstocks......Page 116 7. Feedstock preparation and fermentation......Page 122 8. Information on various feedstocks......Page 159 9. Distillation......Page 225 10. Designing your fuel/feed plant......Page 271 Book 3. Co-products from making alcohol......Page 315 11. Alcohol fuel is only the beginning: Turning waste into profit......Page 316 12. Micro-Distillery Model Farm......Page 350 Book 4. Using alcohol as fuel......Page 362 13. Surprise! Ethanol is the perfect fuel......Page 364 14. Alcohol versus gasoline in your engine......Page 382 15. Carburetion......Page 402 16. Fuel injection......Page 419 17. Cold-start systems......Page 433 18. Ignition timming......Page 441 19. Assorted adjustments......Page 449 20. Converting to high compression......Page 457 21. Smaller engines......Page 463 22. Flexible-fuel and dual-fuel systems......Page 471 23. Methanol and butanol......Page 479 24. Cogeneration and other systems to provide energy from alcohol......Page 483 25. How diesel engines can run on alcohol......Page 491 Book 5. The business of alcohol: Hands-on advice......Page 497 26. Economic and legal considerations......Page 498 27. Practical experiences with alcohol production......Page 521 Book 6. A vision for the nation......Page 535 28. Fueling revolution proposed incentives and regulatory changes to rapidly make the U.S. a renewables-powered country......Page 536 29. Community-supported energy (CSE)......Page 544 More... Back Matter......Page 558 Appendix A. Ethanol and eroei: How the debate has been dominated by one view......Page 559 Appendix B. Two car conversions......Page 567 Appendix C. Useful tables......Page 573 Permaculture. A few closing words......Page 585 Our tree tax......Page 587 Glossary......Page 590 Index......Page 612 Get involved......Page 635

For about the price of a tankful of gas, you'll learn:

• How to make alcohol from a variety of available materials - for about 47 cents a gallon!
• How to organize a profitable, driver-controlled, neighborhood alcohol fuel station.
• Ways to convert your gas engine to E-85 or 100% alcohol for as little as $50.
• How to beat oil companies by operating your own small alcohol fuel company.
• How to get 61 cents a gallon federal ethanol tax credits refunded to you as cash.
• How to correctly fill out the permit that legally allows you to make 200-proof moonshine fuel.
• And much, much more!

Alcohol Can Be A Gas! is the most comprehensive text on alcohol fuel production and use ever written. It's a complete tool kit for farmers, contractors, alternative energy users, mechanics, people concerned with climate change or Peak Oil, and anyone who thinks they're paying too much for fuel.

Would you be surprised to know:

• Detroit has made flexible-fuel alcohol cars for sale in the U.S. since 1994.
• You can fill up on alcohol at more than 1200 stations in the U.S.
• Your gasoline car can already use at least 50% ethanol without modification.
• Brazil runs 50% of it's cars on straight alcohol.
• Ethanol is liquid solar energy, and we can reverse global warming by switching to alcohol fuel.
• Alcohol is 105 octane, as good as the best racing or aviation fuels.
• You can inexpensively generate your home's heating, cooling, cooking, and electricity needs with alcohol.

Alcohol Can Be A Gas! gives every reader the power to take back control of energy from oil companies. This book is packed with actual experiences, proven data, practical designs, and great stories. It also provides the nitty-gritty details needed to fuel a revolution of small businesses prepared to exploit the market opportunities around ecological fuel production.

A comprehensive text on alcohol fuel production and use. Packed with actual experiences, proven data, practical designs and great stories to give every reader the power to take back control of energy from oil companies