Hi, all: I'm really excited to be participating on the biofuels mailing list. I recently learned about biodiesel from a friend and my interest in sustainable technologies was rekindled.
Currently, nobody in my circle owns or operates a diesel vehicle. I have begun my search for a suitable one; like many of the list members I am seeking a vehicle that has a reputation for extreme durability and might even be useful in an off-road circumstance. I've narrowed it down to the Toyota Land Cruiser, 1975-1990, with a 3B diesel in it, though I'm open to other suggestions. I live in Canada, so whatever it is should be covered and should be able to handle cold weather and have towing capacity. I have also been exploring fully self-sufficient means of producing biodiesel; this would require making the biodiesel using anhydrous ethanol and potash (KOH). I realise it's not without its challenges, but I know that people have inquired and we know it is possible, so I'm looking at distilling ethanol for this purpose. I would welcome any advice on doing this properly. What I understand so far is that the ethanol must be distilled to 95% purity and then dehydrated by pouring it through clean pure lime (I presume the lime is hydrated and can then be dehydrated by heating it). Also, getting the reaction to complete is a challenge -- does heating the mixture help? In the meantime, of course, I'll use the ethanol to fuel my vehicle, a 2002 Chevrolet Venture. To my knowledge, this vehicle is not E85 ready, and I intend to run it on pure ethanol, so I'll likely need a Flexfuel module. I welcome any feedback from members who have used one of these. And, of course, advice on building a fuel still is very welcome, too. I'm trying to decide what the best still design is -- there are lots, and being new at it I can't really assess their comparitive merits. Personal anecdotes and opinions would be most appreciated. All in all, I expect to be here for the long haul, and look forward to learning from the experienced and teaching the new! Cheers, -Stephen- _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
