Hello,

I've been making biodiesel for over a year now, and want to try some experiments with ethanol. I realize that 'standard' distilled spirits are subjected to taxes as well as only 95% pure. I also found out that very pure lab grade ethanol is quite expensive.

However, from what I've read, there's a grade in between that's been denatured so that people can't drink it and doesn't contain water.

Can anyone point me in the correct direction for purchasing a drum or 2 (or equivalent) of 99+ % denatured alcohol that's in the $2-4/gallon range and not the $10+ range?

I'm out here in the West, where the ethanol craze never took hold (we don't grow corn here).

Thanks in advance for some advice. - Steve

Home Depot has it for $10 / gallon... which is more than you wanted.

Some people have played around with E-85, which if you find it, it is less than $3 / gallon. Potentially you could wash/distill the alcohol out of the gas, but you should be able to leave it in too.

The stuff at Home Depot or paint stores has a lot of methanol in it, possibly as much as 50%, and is usually about 5% water, too much.

Also, don't get a whole drum -- you may not like how the reaction works with ethanol ....

You ever get up to Sonora? I'd sell you a couple gallons of my anhydrous ethanol denatured with 2% gasoline, just to experiment with if you want. For you today special, $5 a gallon...

Provo,

Thanks for the offer. I'd actually make the trip if it wasn't denatured with gasoline. I've run 2 batches of VO that mistakenly had diesel or motor oil in them. Both batches took FOREVER to wash. I'm guessing that this would also be the case with gasoline. I'd rather use something that I could continue to use after doing the initial testing.

Where do you get this material?

Steve

I used it to make biodiesel for my TDI Beetle for several years, 'til the injector pump blew all its seals.... not the ethanol's fault, of course. The gasoline is a very low percentage and doesn't seem to cause problems.

It came from Parallel Products in Rancho Cucamonga -- do a Google search, it's a pretty cool company. Normally you have to buy a railcar, but they might sell you a drum.