I saw this news piece about moonshine, distillers being used to make ethonal, and they were for sale?

Question

anyone use them?

I meant it was being used as the fuel, ethanol, to power cars and generators

Answer 1

Fuel stills are becoming more and more common and are not only legal, but encouraged. You can get a tax credit for producing and using or selling ethanol. You also avoid the tax that is levied on distilled spirits intended for consumption.

All ethanol that is not intended for consumption must be "denatured". There are many denaturants, depending on the final use of the alcohol. The "denatured alcohol" that you buy at the hardware store uses methanol as a denaturant. Medicines and food additives like flavor extracts have a special chemical that will make you really sick if you consume more than a tiny bit. Fuel alcohol typically uses gasoline as the denaturant.

Answer 2

Having grown up in West Virginia many years ago, I know a little bit about moonshine. One of the most important pieces of information is how deadly it can be. Ethanol, or drinkin' whiskey is not the only chemical that comes off during distillation. Methanol and higher order alcohols is also driven over. Under the best conditions these can make you blind. At the worst, they can kill you.

The higher order alcohols are what gives moonshine its raw character. Called fusel oil in the trade, they can break down with time, thus the reason for aging.

I don't like to give too much advice. Maybe you can make a good choice, based on the information above.