How to Use Corn to Produce Ethanol

Fill the pot halfway with corn kernels and add enough water to cover them completely and allow to boil. Boil for a few minutes or until you get foam. This indicates the release of starches and sugar. Add the yeast and stir.

Pour the mixture, and any subsequent batches, into the barrel and put the hydrometer in the mix. Note the setting of the hydrometer. Put the lid on and let ferment for several days. Check the hydrometer to see if the sugar content is down. In about a week and a half the sugar content should be reduced enough.

Assemble the solar still. Cut a piece of melamine big enough to fit at one end of the 5-gallon container. Use the silicone caulking liberally to seal it into the end of the container. Drill 3/4-inch holes in the bottom and side of the container and fit in the pipes. Silicone these in completely.

Silicone the end of the towel to the side of the container and let the rest hang into the still. Affix the roofing to the top of the container with screws and seal well all around with silicone. Attach the tubing to the pipe end with an o-ring. Use the funnel to pour the fruit into the container. Keep it on its side so it won't pour back out the tubing.

Plug the end of the tubing and let the container sit in the sun. Put the uncapped pipe end over a collection vessel. Condensation will cause the ethanol to separate from the corn and drip into the collection vessel. If it is cloudy or chunky, put it back in to ferment further.