A Self-Sufficient Energy/Livestock System

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FLEXIBILITY'S THE KEY

Even the most cautious individuals would be forced to admit that Charlie McCutcheon has a good thing going — especially from a business standpoint — as a result of his integrated energy/agriculture setup. But even more important is the fact that the operation is versatile enough to work for just about anybody! Since the McCutcheons aren't professional farmers, they have the opportunity to market a good part of their product, material which a full-time "tiller of the soil" may choose to return to his or her acreage. Either way, though, the significant point to remember is that the entire operation is directed toward self-sufficiency . . . wholistic self-sufficiency at that!

THE McCUTCHEON'S ETHANOL DISTILLERY

As most of us have learned, the largest part of the cost of producing ethanol on the farm or at home can be the expense of the raw material used (unless of course spoiled, waste, or otherwise "useless" crops are available). And, often enough, the next "dearest" commodity is the fuel utilized to fire the cooker and the still . . . especially if the device is heated by a petroleum product.

Knowing this as well as the next person, Charlie McCutcheon set out to design a farm-sized alcohol fuel distillery — one that would use an absolute minimum of energy while in operation — and he's recently succeeded in doing just that!

The McCutcheon "brainchild" is a fiberglass-fabricated, 500-gallon-capacity still that operates under 26 inches of vacuum . . . a factor which allows it to work at a temperature of only 130 °F, as compared with the approximately 175°F that a distillery exposed to atmospheric pressure would have to achieve.

(Just as water boils at a higher temperature under pressure — as in the radiator of a car — the liquid takes less heat to achieve a boil within a vacuum . . . as little as 34°F under an absolute vacuum of 29.92 inches of mercury!)

Liquefaction, fermentation, and storage all take place separately within three 500-gallon, 1/4"-fiberglass tanks. Although the "cooking" vat isn't under vacuum pressure, Charles conserves a good deal of energy by violently agitating the mash, a process which allows him to maintain a maximum temperature of only 180°F during liquefaction.

To further improve the efficiency of his operation, Mr. McCutcheon uses a hardy imported yeast in his mash, which he claims can withstand as much as a 13% alcohol content, compared with the 8-10% that "normal" yeast can handle. The additional few percentage points of tolerance, of course, allow the tiny organisms to produce more distillable ethanol per batch of "beer".

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