Jim–
I have been fascinated by the material in the book “Alcohol Can Be a Gas!” [1]. My first walk-through was a bit disappointing because of what I thought was a lot of fluff until I got to how to use alcohol as a fuel. Then I went back and read about distilling alcohol. Then I realized the author was saying alcohol is a by-product (he uses the term “co-product” to show all the products have value). Then he explains how a small farm operation could be self-sustaining, power, heat, fuel and food. Sounds like a survivalist’s dream. I’m anxious to go back and read everything in the book.It is 500+ pages. It is $46, but worth it (I don’t have a dawg in this hunt.)
Chapter 12 “The micro-distillery farm” is the one that will get you thinking: waste heat from the still warms the mushroom facility; mushrooms are growing on the leftover mash; fish are thriving on the liquid part of the mash leftovers; earthworms get 1/3 of the mash to make castings. Alcohol fuels all the machinery, plus heats food, and on and on. Well, you’ve got to read it to catch it all. – Bob