When I first read this I thought about my grandfather. He has some vineyards and obtains spirit by the old method of distilling wine, something which is not precisely cheap, known as orujo or grappa. However, making alcohol for cars is different. Using the same principle, albeit at a different level and speed, you can now mix sugar, water and yeast to produce ethanol in your backyard with the 35-gallon capacity MicroFueler, from E-Fuel, a start-up from Silicon Valley.

Brew your own fuel? E-Fuel claims you can obtain about 1 gallon of ethanol from 10 gallons of sugar and the price of the device ($9,995) can be offset by federal, state and local credits. They also claim you can obtain raw sugar below $1 through a system of carbon trading coupons.

Thomas Quinn, founder and CEO of E-Fuel, claims that this ethanol can be used straight in your car, without further modifications, or even mixed 70/30 percent with water or gasoline.

[Source: Popular Mechanics (thanks to Matt for the tip)]

Dr. Luc Duchesne has developed a self-contained, home-based biodiesel production unit. This consumer-friendly invention looks like a moonshiner's still but mixes and refines biodiesel without constant supervision. The idea is to let the Frankentank mix the animal fat or vegetable oil with the alcohol and catalyst until the biodiesel is brewed. About 58 gallons of feedstock will produce 52 gallons of biodiesel. A batch of biodiesel takes between 8 and 18 hours to produce. The Frankentank prototype is being submitted for certification by the Canadian Standards Association. If approved it could be on the market early next year. Duchesne apparently is adamant that his machine meets all fire and electrical code standards for home storage. He also expects the fuel to meet ASTM standards. Duchesne says a small trucking company could save $50,000 and $70,000 a year using just one machine.

[Source: Ian Ross / Northern Ontario Business]