Unleashing energy one MicroFueler at a time

Introducing the MicroFueler

Frustrated with the ever increasing cost of gasoline, consumers now have an alternative to take control of their energy future. Introducing the EFuel100 Micro-Fueler™ home ethanol system. The MicroFueler is the world’s first noncombustion ethanol micro-refinery system that combines a fuel delivery system with an ethanol production unit. These two features make it possible to produce and manage individual fuel needs without any reliance on the costly oil industry infrastructure. The MicroFueler is the ultimate green machine because it serves as a multipurpose system for producing ethanol from both sugar feedstock and discarded alcohol, a fiscally and environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels.

A pump station is included in the Micro-Fueler' s design, using the same LCD interface found at any local gas station to help people quickly adapt to using it. The process for making ethanol has been reduced to an appliance-sized unit, made possible by the use of micro-sensors and state-of-the-art membrane technology. As a result, the pump station and ethanol distiller are contained within the same appliance. To further simplify the process, the MicroFueler uses sugar as a simple, flexible feedstock, which keeps the unit small and the processing time short. This also solves the negative impact of using only corn, as the sugar normally supplied by E-Fuel is, in fact, unfit for human consumption.

How does it work?

Step one: Feedstock is loaded into the fermentation tank opening.

Step two: User activates LCD control panel for fermentation to begin the ethanol production process.

Step three: Weight sensors measure and determine the appropriate amount of water to let into the tank for proper fermentation. As the fermenting sugar begins its natural ethanol conversion process, high tech ceramic cooling and heating devices under the micro control system maintain the temperature conducive for ethanol fermentation.

Step four: Following fermentation, the ethanol mix is transferred to the distillation system for alcohol water separation. First separation occurs by vaporizing the mix in a vertical column. The vapor then flows to a membrane system for final alcohol separation.

Step five: The ethanol is ready for use.

Invention is the mother of success

“E-Fuel will have a profound impact on the way we obtain and consume fuel, not unlike the paradigm shift that occurred in the 80s from the mainframe computer to the PC. Just as the PC brought desktop computing to the home, E-Fuel will bring the filling station to the home. Making local sugar-based ethanol fuel production possible, E-Fuel can solve the commercial ethanol transportation and pump station problems while providing consumers lower cost fuel due to micro efficiencies.”

-- Tom Quinn, E-Fuel Founder and CEO, press release, EFuel100, May 8, 2009 source (PDF)

 

For detailed product specifications, please download the Spec Sheet.

There's grey water, and then there is MicroFueler water

The main discard from the MicroFueler process is organicly rich H2O. Our fuel creation process is done at a much lower temperature because it is based on low-heat distillation process. When compared to gasoline, depending on the production method, ethanol releases less or even no net increases in greenhouse gases; however, it does produce a reusable waste product. Water.

Initial tests of the water produced by the MicroFueler in Palos Verdes has crops growing with water from the MicroFueler output growing three times as robust as the control group. This is due to the concentrated nutrients left over from the distillation process.  With a MicroFueler at your home or place of business, you can reuse the water like gray water, but with the added bonus that it is feeding your flowers, shrubs, and trees as well as watering them.

Waste water output from the MicroFueler is water, nutrients and yeast residue. It is safe to dispose down the drain into a sewer system or anaerobic septic system. It may also be reclaimed for use in irrigation or other grey water applications. In some cases, depending upon the organic fuel used, the discharge may be reclaimed and used for fertilizer and other productive purposes.

 

Gasoline is history

Introducing E-Fuel’s MicroFueler™, earth’s first home organic fuel processing system. Set-up involves placing it on a level surface and connecting it to a source of water, power, and wastewater disposal, just like a washing machine. The MicroFueler consists of 2 main components:

  1. the distillation/pumping unit
  2. the organic fuel (feedstock) tank.

Up to 4 feedstock tanks may be connected to each pumping unit to achieve high volume continuous E-Fuel100 production.

The organic fuel is processed to create E-Fuel100. Typical feedstock will consist of waste identified and aggregated by GreenHouse Energy. On an “as needed” basis, GreenHouse Energy will deliver feedstock to your MicroFueler. The distributor is aware of the need through the E-Fuel Global Network (EGN) which monitors vital signs of your MicroFueler and alerts the appropriate parties based upon pre-set conditions. As a user, all you need to be concerned with is pumping the E-Fuel100. The EGN will bill you monthly for the use of the MicroFueler at the agreed upon rate established between you and your servicing distributor.

As part of the MicroFueler total system solution, every MicroFueler subscribes to the E-Fuel Global Network for a nominal monthly fee. The EGN will monitor the status of your MicroFueler 24x7. Monitored information will be available to you, GreenHouse, and E-Fuel through the MicroFueler Dashboard through a secure Internet portal. In fact, the MicroFueler will email you and GreenHouse if a critical condition exists. When viewing the Dashboard, real-time information is available, as well as complete historical data.

Good for the engine; good for the environment

The partners of Green House, John Galt and Chris Ursitti, have performed a field test of the 129 high-octane EFuel100™ in their own vehicles.  Specifically, a Mercedes GL and Toyota Tundra were test-driven with EFuel100™ in the tank.  Both vehicles performed just as if they were running on regular gasoline, including similar performance and gas mileage, with two notable exceptions.  Both vehicles ran at much cooler temperatures compared to running on regular gasoline, so much so that testers were able to place their hands on the manifold while the engine was running.  EFuel100™ also produces 85% fewer emissions in comparison to regular gasoline. 

Some quick facts about ethanol

  • On average, ethanol is about 117 octane; you can't even get "super unleaded" that high
  • Ethanol has a much lower compression / combustion temperature than gasoline, allowing your engine to run much cooler, increasing the lifespan of your vehicle
  • There are over half a million flex-fuel vehicles in the state of California alone; the problem is that is is nigh impossible to find an ethanol fueling station -- this is solved when you can fuel your car, truck, boat, lawnmower, or other fuel-consuming apparatus right out of your garage

One person's trash is another person's gold

Thousands of businesses produce liquid waste that then must be disposed of in a responsible, environmentally friendly manner. What better way to be green than to take discarded waste and turn it into organic fuel for a gasoline-thirsty world? The MicroFueler needs feedstock -- "green juice" -- in order to complete the transition of biomass or waste into ethanol. And the raw materials for this feedstock are everywhere.

Here are some examples of viable discarded waste that can be processed into feedstock for the MicroFueler:

  • Breweries, distilleries, and wineries -- beverage producers -- dispose of hundreds of thousands of gallons of reusable waste every week
  • Products that are past their shelf life -- from fruit to soda to juice to liquor -- are pulled from store shelves daily and thrown away; GreenHouse even recycles all of the containers
  • Unpredictable weather systems destroy millions of dollars of fruit on the tree every year -- to us, that's feedstock

As a premier provider of feedstock for the MicroFueler, GreenHouse has partnered with some of the most forward-thinking beverage producers worldwide to reclaim their discarded products for processing.

 

Some facts about waste

  • The United States generates approximately 55 billion gallons of liquid waste per year -- much of this can be used as feedstock for the MicroFueler
  • When improperly handled and disposed of, liquid wastes pose a serious threat to human health and the environment; they can contaminate watersheds, pollute ground water, and local sources of drinking water

Learn more about our partnerships:

 

Economic stimulus for everyone

With the revolutionary Microfueler comes a huge demand for talented, dedicated, and skilled artisians in a wide variety of fields, from installation to service to production. GreenHouse is expecting to grow at a phenomenal pace in order to continue to provide, and by definition, GreenHouse jobs are Green Jobs. As part of the national stimulus plan announced by President Obama, this is a critical path to the road to recovery, and GreenHouse is part of the solution.

 

Van Jones is passionate about Green Jobs. After founding Green For All, he has joined the Obama administration as an advocate for green job creation as an economic stimulus:

"Van Jones will leave to become Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). His duties will include: helping to shape and implement job-generating climate policy; working to ensure equal protection and equal opportunity in the administration’s climate and energy proposals; and publicly advocating the administration's environmental and energy agenda."

-- press release from Green For All, March 10, 2009, source

GreenHouse is a provider of green jobs, and we are actively looking for new team members.

Make your own electricity

Coupling a MicroFueler with a GridBuster home generator, you have all of the ingredients to be self-sufficient. The GridBuster is a 7000 watt whisper-quiet power plant that is capable of powering a 5000 square foot home on ethanol from the MicroFueler. Excess energy can theoretically be sold back to your local power company as "green energy". Many local power providers are under a mandate to procure a percentage of their power generation from sustainable and renewable sources, and would be happy to take that excess green lightning off of your hands.

Put rolling brownouts and electrical interruptions in the past. The GridBuster severs the need to purchase dirty power -- or clean power at a high premium -- for your home or business. Business owners: think about the peace of mind and the cost savings on Uninterruptable Power Supplies for your mission critical equipment when you are safely and reliably generating your own source of power on site.