[Bioconversion] [Bioenergy] Ethanol, E85, Cattails, and the MREA Fair.

[Carefreeland at aol.com]

In a message dated 6/18/07 9:41:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
hseaver at gmail.com writes:

DD: Dan Dimiduk comments
> 
> 
>   Well, the MREA energy fair was a great experience as usual. The
> absolute greatest thing for me was a forum I went to put on by David
> Blum, who used to work for Mother Earth News back in the '70's and did
> most of the alcohol fuel stuff for them and has been continuing to work
> with that ever since. He's also very much into permaculture. Has a great
> book coming out next month on alcohol fuels -- all aspects of it called
> "Alcohol Can Be A Gas"
> 
> http://alcoholcanbeagas.org/site/book_menu/360
> 
>   Anyway -- he asked the crowd if anybody knew of any good feedstocks
> for alcohol other than corn, and, of course, I piped up with my cattail
> rant. He started laughing -- that was his next topic. And they've been
> doing a lot more work with cattails that I've never heard about, it's
> far, far better than I thought. You don't have to dig up the roots, the
> bottom 3 feet of the tops are just as good. And -- you can get much
> higher yields both of starch content (up to 70%) and tonnage, they've
> gotten 70 tons per acre. He proposes changing all sewage treatment
> plants to growing cattails for ethanol.

DD In runnoff retention/ detention pond you can cut the bottom three feet of 
a cattail with a stout lawn mower. That also crushes it up for rapid 
conversion to mash. Most of the retention ponds here drain completely dry in the summer 
between rainy periods. Nobody knows how to landscape these because most 
landscapers do not understand how to construct a functioning wetland. 

>   And making ethanol out of it is just as easy as any other starch.
> Blum says it's by far the best crop for ethanol where you can't grow
> sugarcane, and maybe even for there too. Totally sustainable,
> permaculture, etc. What he was also big on was returning the spent mash
> to the fields, even with corn -- in fact has been issued a patent on
> using the spent corn mash as both a herbicide and fertilizer -- natural
> "weed and feed". He patented it just so Monsanto, et al, couldn't, and
> gives permission for farmers to use it for payment of $1 and an written
> agreement they won't buy any Monsanto products.

DD I would be highly interested in commercializing this product. Patent fees 
are not a big issue with me. I don't think I could take the pledge because I 
refuse to rule out using products which might be beneficial to a customer's 
landscape over a political view. I am working on a new plant- based insecticide 
myself. 

>   Also -- he says absolutely no problem with running ethanol in cars

> produced post '83 or so, as they all went to alcohol proof seals when
> ethanol started replacing mtbe. And all the early injection systems (up
> to about '96) run E85 just fine because the injector - O2 sensor
> relationship just keeps enrichening the mix. The later cars with smarter
> computers (after about '96) need either the computer reprogrammed or a
> small cheap module placed between the computer and the injectors -- but,
> you can run E50 or so in those with no problem and no modification.

DD: This is music to my ears. I have been running a lot of ethanol in my 
vehicals, all of which are built in these good years. Interesting point of note. 
on GM vehicals, the O- rings are green if they are ethanol friendly. I have 
this from a person who has worked at a GM dealership for a long time. 

>   Also, not only is the E85 so much cheaper, but you get a minimum of
> $0.61 federal tax credit for each gallon you buy, and some states also
> have tax credits. You also can get a $1500 fed tax credit for converting
> your car to ethanol. Also can get a $100,000 tax credit for installing a
> E85 filling station.

DD Maybe ethanol is much cheaper where you live but not here. Not until 
Kroger Grocery started carrying E- 85 for 30 cents cheaper. Marathon Oil, which has 
some of the most predatory gasoline retailing strategy around here, was 
actually selling it for more than gasoline. They had the only E-85 pump around at 
speedway in Hillard , outside of Columbus, Ohio, and took full advantage of 
pricing to discourage use of E-85. Many of the pumps out of state around here 
also sell E-85 for as much as regular gasoline. 

>   Way, way more E85 stations around the midwest than I thought too.
> I'm thinking pretty seriously of milling the head on my '91 Toyota to
> 13:1 CR (it's 9.5:1 stock) because right now I can drive anywhere I want
> in WI and MN and not have any real problem getting E85.
>   Also -- no problem running it in chansaws and other two-strokes,
> there are alcohol 2-stroke mixes. He also said they have been running
> ethanol ( 99% ethanol - 1% biodiesel for lubing the injector pump) in
> many of the lower compression diesels. Forgot to ask if you didn't take
> a power hit with that.
>   Can't wait to get the book. I sent him these list addresses, I'm
> hoping he will join the discussion.
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Harmon Seaver
> 
> 
DD Thanks for the good information Harmon, Maybe we can get something going 
here, I smell an Ethanol still in my future, cooking cattail juice. My farm can 
be any retention pond in populated southwest Ohio, and they will pay me to ha
rvest the raw material. That is what I call win - win. 
       
       Dan Dimiduk 



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