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Advance Praise for Alcohol Fuel We should salute the pioneers who worked out the details of small-scale fuel production. We should also do them the honor of turning their innovation into a meaningful agent of change in the future. This book improves our opportunity to do both of those things. — Bryan Welch, from the Foreword Finally, a definitive guide to ethanol for sustainable communities and do-it-yourselfers! Alcohol Fuel is a splendid brew of theory, practice, and hands-on fundamentals from an expert author who has truly been there and done that. Dan Fink — co-author, Homebrew Wind Power; contributing author, Home Power Magazine, Back Home Magazine, and more. Alcohol Fuel is a practical, well-written book that will give you all the information you need to reduce your dependence on big oil. The fact that the focus of this book is on small or community scale operations makes it even more useful to the average person or group considering ethanol as an alternative fuel. I highly recommend it. — Greg Pahl, Author of The Citizen-Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to a Global Crisis, www.gregpahl.com Richard Freudenberger’s Alcohol Fuel is a remarkable exploration of small scale energy production. Part history, part memories, it is an amazing look at how we might sustainably fuel ourselves. — Lyle Estill, author of Biodiesel Power and Small is Possible; cofounder of Piedmont Biofuels Alcohol Fuel is what we’ve been waiting for — fuel production on the appropriate scale. — Dr. Jack Martin, CSIT, Appropriate Technology Program, Appalachian State University Writing about technical subjects that honors both the material and the reader is rare, and when brought forth, seems to be borne from a deep intimacy with the subject and an affection for and belief in the capacity of people. Alcohol Fuel is such a work of deep generosity, and I am thankful to have it. — Forest Gregg, author of SVO: Powering Your Vehicle with Straight Vegetable Oil, CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA: A catalog record for this publication is available from the National Library of Canada. Copyright © 2009 by Richard Freudenberger. All rights reserved. Cover design by Diane McIntosh. Sugar beets: iStock/Jason Lugo; Still: Richard Freudenberger; Car: istock/Galina Barskaya Printed in Canada by Friesens. First printing September 2009. Paperback ISBN: 978-0-86571-626-1 Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of Alcohol Fuel should be addressed to New Society Publishers at the address below. To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America) 1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to: New Society Publishers P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC V0R 1X0, Canada (250) 247-9737 New Society Publishers’ mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. This book is one step toward ending global deforestation and climate change. It is printed on Forest Stewardship Council-certified acid-free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free), processed chlorine free, and printed with vegetable-based, low-VOC inks, with covers produced using FSC-certified stock. Additionally, New Society purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit, operating with a carbon-neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full list of books and purchase securely, visit our website at: www.newsociety.com To my colleague, coworker and friend, Clarence Goosen, who threw heart and soul into ethanol fuel back in the day — and without whom this book would not have b