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Alcohol from Wood for fuel

Started by ARKANSAWYER, May 10, 2008, 07:54:22 PM

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ARKANSAWYER

   Doing a little reading while it is raining again.  Looking to make alcohol from wood kind of deal.  Then I find this paper written back in 1985 by John Zerbe a goverment guy.  He saw the writting on the wall back then and if some one would have listened then I would not be paying $4.25 a gallon for diesel.  Instead I would be paying $2.00 a gallon for methanol.  And what ever happened to IH's little plants?

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1986/zerbe86a.pdf

Alcohol from Wood as an Alternative
Transportation Fuel
By
John I. Zerbe
Zerbe, John I. Alcohol from wood as an alternative transportation
fuel. In: Alternative energy in the midwest: research and
applications: conference proceedings; vol. 1. 1985 February 21-23;
Schaumberg, IL. (Springfield, IL): Illinois Department of Energy
and Natural Resources; (1986): 3-3 - 3-7.
January 1985


Potential for Alcohol from Wood
Use in the Midwest
If plants are built in the Midwest for commercial alcohol from wood, they
will probably be large scale because of the inherent economics of large plants.
Because of the complexities of running these plants they would also be unsuitable
for small-entrepreneur or on-farm operation. However, several years ago
International Harvester did propose fairly small, portable, 1 million-gallonper-
year methanol plants.
I believe the most likely wood-to-alcohol plant for competing in today's
market with the Federal and State subsidies that are now in place would be a
dilute acid hydrolysis plant. Such a plant might use 1,000 dry tons of wood
per day to produce 25 million gallons of ethanol per year. Sixteen of these
plants could produce about as much ethanol as we are now getting from corn.
ARKANSAWYER

ElectricAl

QuoteSuch a plant might use 1,000 dry tons of wood
per day

That is 50 to 80 truck loads per day of green chips or shredded BioMass :o

Our local General Mills food plant gave up on the idea of a BioMass CoGen when they could not get 10 loads delivered per day even going out 200 miles. :-\

Linda and I custom saw NHLA Grade Lumber, do retail sales, and provide Kiln Services full time.

ARKANSAWYER




  Well here we can get it.  If you bought pine saw logs and paid $50 a ton that would be $50,000 a day or just a tad over $18 million for the year if you ran 365.  But making 25 million gallons of methanol and getting $2.00 a gallon you would just have to know what your production cost per gallon was.  Get some coin to the right goverment people and get lots of grants and loans so the people pay for it to make you rich like Exxon/Mobile and then get all kinds of EPA rules so no one else can start one and then you got it made.
   I would like to find out what happen to the IH's 1 million gallon a year plants?  That would be one that you could set up in different areas and produce for the area.  Here it would be easy to get 10 truck loads of chips and sawdust a day to feed the thing. Then just set up a filling station at the front gate and keep trucking cost down.
  Alchol burns so much better then gas and is cleaner in so many ways.  Indy cars run on the stuff as do top fuel dragsters.
ARKANSAWYER

Wudman

Arky,

To my knowledge, there are two wood ethanol plants currently under construction in the US.  One is in Georgia and the other in Louisiana.  NC State University has developed the technology that these plants will utilize.  The process is much more efficient than producing fuel from grain crops.

Wudman
"You may tear down statues and burn buildings but you can't kill the spirit of patriots and when they've had enough this madness will end."
Charlie Daniels
July 4, 2020 (2 days before his death)

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