New device can make ethanol at home

Company will deliver raw material as needed

By Michael Gardner, U-T Sacramento Bureau

 

HOME FUEL STATION

How it works: Purchase a mobile “microfueler” pump and hook it up to water and power. A distributor provides raw liquid materials that the pump converts into ethanol.

Cost: The pump will cost $10,000, but rebates could cut that price by $2,000. Businesses could receive a federal tax credit of 50 percent. Owners would be charged the going rate for ethanol for the fuel they use.

Local ties: GreenHouse Energy will be the distributor for most of Southern California. Karl Strauss Brewery will provide a large share of waste material for the ethanol.

SACRAMENTO – California motorists may soon be able to fill up their gas tanks without leaving the driveway.

In a ceremony on the Capitol steps yesterday, E-Fuel Corp. of Los Gatos unveiled its answer to high gasoline prices: the “microfueler,” which turns liquid waste into ethanol right at home.

Two San Diego companies are playing a crucial role in bringing the new technology to the market.

GreenHouse Energy has been named the exclusive distributor for most of Southern California. Think of it as AmeriGas or the Culligan man.

Karl Strauss Brewery has been tapped to provide a large share of the beer yeast that contains the alcohol content needed to turn its waste into fuel.

“We will make home delivery of clean and affordable ethanol something every Californian can count on,” said Chris Ursitti, chief executive of GreenHouse.

But there is a steep price upfront: $10,000. Government-sponsored rebates could cut that price by $2,000 for individuals, however. And businesses could be eligible for up to a 50 percent federal tax credit.

Marc Martin, a Karl Strauss vice president, is excited about the new avenues microfuelers can open for motorists and businesses.

“It furthers our internal core values, which are caring for each other, our community and our environment,” he said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger attended the event to promote the microfueler, which looks like a gas station pump on wheels.

“It takes what is essentially a byproduct of beer, something that would be normally thrown away, and turns it into fuel,” he said.

Schwarzenegger also announced that the state is exploring a pilot program to operate some of the fuel-at-home stations.

“We, as a state, want to be a good example,” he said.

This is how it will work: Interested motorists will buy the microfueler and keep it at home, probably in the garage. A normal wall socket and water supply are all that's needed to churn the waste into ethanol. GreenHouse Energy will supply the liquid waste at no charge.

Motorists can then pull the car up and pump the ethanol at the going market price, currently about $2 a gallon. They will be billed a fixed rate for the fuel pumped, most likely monthly. The pump machine can make 40 gallons a day and will automatically notify the distributor when supplies are running low, company officials say.

Currently, homeowners do not need to obtain any special permits from the city or county to produce ethanol. However, they will have to go online and obtain a free permit from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to E-Fuel executives.

In a nod to naysayers, E-Fuel founder Tom Quinn compared the microfueler to the dawn of the computer age, when skeptics couldn't imagine personal computers, laptops or iPhone technology.

“So we really feel that this is going to start the greatest organic fuel revolution of our time,” Quinn said.

Ethanol makers have come under increasing criticism, primarily because a large share of the fuel is made from food-based corn. The rush to produce more ethanol when gas neared $5 a gallon was blamed in some quarters for a spike in food prices.

GreenHouse Energy will steer clear of that controversy by using only organic, non-food waste sources for ethanol production, Ursitti said.

“We will never enter the food chain,” Ursitti said. Organic waste from beer makers, wineries and even lumber mills will provide ample sources, he said.

Karl Strauss currently generates about 8,000 gallons of spent beer yeast per month, brewmaster Paul Segura said. Some of it goes to local dairy farmers for cattle feed.

In the future, the brewery expects to provide GreenHouse with 5,000 gallons of yeast for microfuelers to convert into ethanol, while keeping 3,000 gallons for livestock feed, Segura said.

As part of its agreement with GreenHouse, Karl Strauss will install a microfueler and eventually plans to use ethanol in its distribution fleet, Martin said.

Sierra Nevada Brewery has also participated in pilot projects and plans to use the microfuelers, the Chico-based company has announced. Other major beer makers are also active in the broader ethanol market.

Motorists will not have to make any major modifications to their vehicles, Ursitti said. Models from 1987 and newer are already equipped to run on ethanol as well as gasoline.

However, the “check engine” light would probably come on when running on ethanol. Motorists would need to invest a couple of hundred dollars for a computer chip that will basically tell the engine that there isn't a problem with the fuel, Ursitti said

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