Solar process

Claim 1

A solar process for producing alcohol including providing an apparatus of a size sufficiently small to be conveniently carried on a flat bed truck, said apparatus including a fermentation section and a distillation section; said fermentation section including a shallow pan with a large top opening inclined at an angle to the horizontal, a transparent member disposed over said top opening of said fermentation pan, cover means for said fermentation pan; means for introducing fermentable material into said fermentation pan, means for removing liquid from said fermentation pan, solar heating means for said liquid, means for transferring said heated liquid to said distillation section; said distillation section including a shallow pan with a large top opening inclined at an angle to the horizontal, said distillation pan including a bottom section with a plurality of spaced rib members, said rib members being disposed in a substantially horizontal, parallel orientation, a transparent member disposed over said top opening of said distillation pan, means for selectively reducing the solar exposure of said distillation pan, liquid collecting means disposed adjacent the lower edge of said distillation pan; and means for controlling the temperatures within said fermentation pan and said distillation pan; said process also including the steps of preparing a pulverized fermentable material, vigorously mixing water with said pulverized fermentable material to form a uniform aqueous mixture including said fermentable material, adjusting the pH of said mixture to between about 4 and 5, selectively exposing said aqueous fermentable mixture to solar radiation in said fermentation section to heat said mixture to an elevated temperature between about 80° and 100° F., maintaining said aqueous fermentable mixture at said elevated temperature for a time sufficient to ferment substantially all of said fermentable material, separating liquid from said fermented mixture, exposing said fermented liquid to solar radiation in said distillation section to heat said liquid to a temperature approaching the boiling point of said alcohol between about 170° and 190° F., passing said heated liquid continuously in small quantities over said inclined rib members while subjecting said liquid to solar radiation through said transparent member of said distillation pan, vaporizing the alcohol component of said liquid, controlling the exposure of said fermented liquid to solar radiation during said vaporizing step, condensing said vaporized alcohol component on the under side of said transparent member disposed closely above said inclined rib members, and collecting said condensed alcohol component.