Ethanol-Blended Gasoline
07-17-2003, 10:03 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 315
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ethanol-Blended Gasoline
Benefits:
·10-percent ethanol blends reduce carbon monoxide better than any other reformulated gasoline blend -- more than 25%.
·Ethanol is low in reactivity and high in oxygen content, making it an effective tool in reducing ozone pollution.
·Ethanol is a safe replacement for toxic octane enhancers in gasoline such as benzene, toluene and xylene.
http://www.ethanol.org
As most of you probably already know, ethanol is now being used as an octane enhancer in some blends of gasoline. Car manufacturers typically endorse up to a 10% ethanol blend as a suitable oxygenate for their existing cars. Another blend, E-85, uses 85% ethanol in it’s formulation, but this is not a suitable blend for the average automobile on the road today. A small number of "Flexible Fuel Vehicles" - mostly government vehicles – are on the road and are successfully running on the E-85 blend. The flexible fuel vehicles may play a big role in the future, but for now, the majority of us will have to settle for the 10% blend.
A major portion of the ethanol being used in gasoline blends is derived from corn. Therefore, as supporters of the corn industry many of you have been making a conscious effort to purchase ethanol-enhanced gasoline when possible. The problem is, most retail outlets do not yet offer the ethanol blend. Two exceptions to this are the Sunoco and Getty companies.
Currently, Sunoco is offering a blend containing up to 10% ethanol. Most of the Sunoco outlets selling the ethanol blend are located in central and western PA. A representative from Sunoco also said some outlets in Maryland and West Virginia are offering ethanol-blended gasoline on a limited basis.
The Getty Petroleum Company did not respond to our inquiry, but they have a number of stations in and around the Harrisburg and Carlisle regions. Individuals not affiliated with the company have informed us that some of these Getty outlets sell fuel that utilizes an ethanol blend – reportedly lower than the 10% blend.
·10-percent ethanol blends reduce carbon monoxide better than any other reformulated gasoline blend -- more than 25%.
·Ethanol is low in reactivity and high in oxygen content, making it an effective tool in reducing ozone pollution.
·Ethanol is a safe replacement for toxic octane enhancers in gasoline such as benzene, toluene and xylene.
http://www.ethanol.org
As most of you probably already know, ethanol is now being used as an octane enhancer in some blends of gasoline. Car manufacturers typically endorse up to a 10% ethanol blend as a suitable oxygenate for their existing cars. Another blend, E-85, uses 85% ethanol in it’s formulation, but this is not a suitable blend for the average automobile on the road today. A small number of "Flexible Fuel Vehicles" - mostly government vehicles – are on the road and are successfully running on the E-85 blend. The flexible fuel vehicles may play a big role in the future, but for now, the majority of us will have to settle for the 10% blend.
A major portion of the ethanol being used in gasoline blends is derived from corn. Therefore, as supporters of the corn industry many of you have been making a conscious effort to purchase ethanol-enhanced gasoline when possible. The problem is, most retail outlets do not yet offer the ethanol blend. Two exceptions to this are the Sunoco and Getty companies.
Currently, Sunoco is offering a blend containing up to 10% ethanol. Most of the Sunoco outlets selling the ethanol blend are located in central and western PA. A representative from Sunoco also said some outlets in Maryland and West Virginia are offering ethanol-blended gasoline on a limited basis.
The Getty Petroleum Company did not respond to our inquiry, but they have a number of stations in and around the Harrisburg and Carlisle regions. Individuals not affiliated with the company have informed us that some of these Getty outlets sell fuel that utilizes an ethanol blend – reportedly lower than the 10% blend.
07-18-2003, 02:37 AM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Redmond, WA
Posts: 50
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
All the shell stations in St. Louis that I ever went to have little stickers on the pump stating that the gas is a 10% ethanol blend...so it just insn't being done in a few locations.
07-18-2003, 03:40 AM
#3
Ricer is Nicer.....
Ethanol....
What is it that is being achieved here?
Are we trying to 'oxygenate' fuels to reduce smog?
Are we proposing to raise octane without Benzene, Toluene and Xylene?
Or is the aim to raise the demand and price for corn?
And why should us consumers be forced to pay for any of the above? I have said it before, we demand that government 'do' something, and they will. Using the only tool they have - tax.
It's like turkeys voting for christmas, you have only to do a little research (or read 'The Economist') to find the disaster that Brazil caused with its enforced ethanol policy.
......"We have way too much sugarfrom sugar cane, and the world price is less than cost of production, we should make it into ethanol and sell it as gasoline!"
......Cost of production and energy used in the whole cycle, fertilizers, harvesters, fermentation, distillation, purification, came to way more than the price of gasoline - no problem we will subsidize it!
......Cars cannot run on a mostly ethanol fuel, no problem, we will subsidize them too! Tell volkswagen they must make only ethanol capable cars, yes, I know it will be expensive, but we will subsidize the makers also!
......So now we have the government paying farmers to slash and burn jungle to get in on this great deal, subsidies going to the farmers, oil companies (who did you think was doing the processing?) vehicle makers, and finally the consumers.
......To say it was untenable is only stating the obvious, and when the whole thing came crashing down, who was left with an 'E85' beetle waiting for a fuel truck to show up?
There are better solutions around, but they don't have the 'Knee-Jerk-Green' appeal.
1/Clean up the gasoline, the Lead came out years ago, now it is time to remove the benzene, it is a poison and a potent carcinogen, (you will never get the Toluol or the Xylenes out of the gasoline, they ARE the gasoline!, Plus they are only toxic to the extent that gasoline is toxic.) The legislation is already passed, I believe, full implementation in 2004.
2/Leave things the way they are, we have the option of buying an ethanol blend in most parts of the country, let the supply/demand system work as it should. This is by far the least cost item for us taxpayers.
3/ If you want to oxygenate the fuel, don't get sidetracked by lobbyists - there are many other components that can do the job, MTBE, TAME, ethers, methanol, IPA.
...."But if they use them they won't be using our beloved Corn and making us feel all warm inside, farmers, the family farm, quaint old 'moonshiners' and all that!"
Trust me on this, if we have a massive ethanol program, there is only ONE sure winner - the Archer Daniels Midland company, who already has a death grip on the corn industry, and who would like to fortify it with lots of your tax dollars. Check out the fine print on any ethanol ads you find, look for the ADM logo......
.
.
.
doc
Are we trying to 'oxygenate' fuels to reduce smog?
Are we proposing to raise octane without Benzene, Toluene and Xylene?
Or is the aim to raise the demand and price for corn?
And why should us consumers be forced to pay for any of the above? I have said it before, we demand that government 'do' something, and they will. Using the only tool they have - tax.
It's like turkeys voting for christmas, you have only to do a little research (or read 'The Economist') to find the disaster that Brazil caused with its enforced ethanol policy.
......"We have way too much sugarfrom sugar cane, and the world price is less than cost of production, we should make it into ethanol and sell it as gasoline!"
......Cost of production and energy used in the whole cycle, fertilizers, harvesters, fermentation, distillation, purification, came to way more than the price of gasoline - no problem we will subsidize it!
......Cars cannot run on a mostly ethanol fuel, no problem, we will subsidize them too! Tell volkswagen they must make only ethanol capable cars, yes, I know it will be expensive, but we will subsidize the makers also!
......So now we have the government paying farmers to slash and burn jungle to get in on this great deal, subsidies going to the farmers, oil companies (who did you think was doing the processing?) vehicle makers, and finally the consumers.
......To say it was untenable is only stating the obvious, and when the whole thing came crashing down, who was left with an 'E85' beetle waiting for a fuel truck to show up?
There are better solutions around, but they don't have the 'Knee-Jerk-Green' appeal.
1/Clean up the gasoline, the Lead came out years ago, now it is time to remove the benzene, it is a poison and a potent carcinogen, (you will never get the Toluol or the Xylenes out of the gasoline, they ARE the gasoline!, Plus they are only toxic to the extent that gasoline is toxic.) The legislation is already passed, I believe, full implementation in 2004.
2/Leave things the way they are, we have the option of buying an ethanol blend in most parts of the country, let the supply/demand system work as it should. This is by far the least cost item for us taxpayers.
3/ If you want to oxygenate the fuel, don't get sidetracked by lobbyists - there are many other components that can do the job, MTBE, TAME, ethers, methanol, IPA.
...."But if they use them they won't be using our beloved Corn and making us feel all warm inside, farmers, the family farm, quaint old 'moonshiners' and all that!"
Trust me on this, if we have a massive ethanol program, there is only ONE sure winner - the Archer Daniels Midland company, who already has a death grip on the corn industry, and who would like to fortify it with lots of your tax dollars. Check out the fine print on any ethanol ads you find, look for the ADM logo......
.
.
.
doc
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
