Ethanol and E85

Pure ethanol or E100 is also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol. It is made when corn, grain, or other agricultural products are fermented, distilled, and denatured and because of this, it is a continually renewable resource, a true benefit in the world of alternative fuels. Another benefit is the fact that, unlike many other, mainly petroleum based, fuels, it contributes nothing to the build-up of greenhouse gases. Because of its renewable nature, it is possible to extensively reduce a nation’s dependence on foreign oil products.

Pure ethanol is never used as an alternative fuel, but ethanol blends are. For example, E10 is a fuel made of 10 percent ethanol and blended with 90 percent gasoline. The most common blend is E85, a fuel made of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E85 is officially classified by the U.S. Department of Energy as an alternative energy fuel. It could be used in most cars today that are run on gasoline with some modification, and new, flexible fuel vehicles, are being developed that could use E85. Recently, lobbyists have been pushing for its use in FFVs or flexible fuel vehicles, alternative vehicles that have a lesser impact on the environment than today’s gas guzzling cars.

E85 Properties

Why is E85 gaining in popularity to the point that lines of vehicles are being developed that will run on it alone? Compare it to the properties of gasoline, and see for yourself:

It is a renewable resource
Reduces dependence on foreign oil
Reduces smog and emissions
96 octane to 86-94 octane in gasoline
12,500 lower heating value to 18,000-19,000 lower heating value of gasoline
1.4 gallons of E85 is equal to 1 gallon gasoline
Per gallon, E85 gets 72% of the miles that gasoline gets
Holding tank is 1.4 times larger than a gasoline holding tank
In cold weather, E85 starts the car as well as gasoline
Vehicle power is increased 3-5% with E85

Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFV)

A flexible fuel vehicle is a car that runs on any ethanol blend, E85 or less, and can also run on regular unleaded gas. They have been in production for almost a decade and continue to be built by some major car manufacturers including Ford, GM, Mercury, Isuzu, and more. Over 2 million of today’s vehicles are flexible fuel vehicles, which can run on ethanol, gasoline, or a mixture of the two. You may own one of these FFV’s without even being aware of it. Some of the benefits of flexible fuel vehicles include:

Emissions that create smog are reduced 25 percent
Cost effectiveness is equal to that of cars run on gasoline
Similar warranties and original equipment are manufactured as they are for gasoline run vehicles
Emissions that create greenhouse gases are reduced 35 to 40 percent
Vehicle horsepower increased up to 5 percent
Fuel is renewable
New vehicles can be ordered with a flexible fuel engine option
More and more E85 pumps are springing up all over the country
Gasoline can be mixed with any amount of E85 if E85 is not available

Hybrid Vehicles And Ethanol

Most cars, including hybrid cars have no problems with a 10 percent ethanol blend. However, at this time, the combination of E85 and the hybrid car is only slowly making its way from the drawing board to the highway. Some instances have occurred where the two have been combined, but these are primarily in fleet situations and concept cars so far. However, it shouldn’t be too long before you can buy a hybrid car that will run on E85.

Drawbacks of E85

There are a few disadvantages to E85 at this point in the game, though they hardly outweigh the benefits. Some of these include:

The cost of E85 is formidable due to the cost of the fermentation process but research has already begun to develop a new and cheaper fermentation process that utilizes lower-grade feed stocks.
Ethanol is quite a bit more corrosive than gasoline, which could lead to engine problems.

Issues of things like vapor lock, flame visibility, and cold starts have experts concerned.
The miles per gallon of E85 is less efficient than the miles per gallons of gasoline.
It’s not easy to find E85 gasoline tanks because distribution is difficult.

One present disadvantage that DOES outweigh the ecological value for the consumer is the scarcity of locations selling E85. This will probably continue to change over time however. For those in the military, there are some military bases where E85 can be found.

Despite the limitations, ethanol based alternative fuels like E85 are an incredible improvement over the use of gasoline. Some car manufacturers are offering to upgrade regular engines to E85 capability for no cost, and the fact that flexible fuel vehicles are not reliant upon E85 but can use gasoline in any combination with the ethanol blend makes it a simple choice. Scientists and researchers are working on ways to fix the remaining issues. This new technology is more than a trend but the direction in which the future is taking drivers.

You can learn more about alternative fuels and flexible fuel vehicles, including what vehicles are flexible fuel vehicles, and where to find E85, at the United States Government’s Alternative Fuel Data Center. You can locate them online at http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/infrastructure/fuel_inf.html

The author is retired from the Army after 21 years of service, has worked as an accountant, optical lab manager, restaurant manager, and instructor. He has been a member of Mensa for several years, and has written and published poetry, essays, and articles on various subjects for the last 40 years. He is keenly interested in the fuels of the future, America’s dependence on foreign oil, the physical limits of stores of petroleum based products, and the futures of his grandchildren.

• Should You Invest In Green Energy? Oil dropped below $114 today after hovering around $117 per barrel. But I still think the long term trend is up. According to Kevin Kerr, editor of a commodities investment newsletter, “The U.S. is filled with gas hogs, but the developing world is catching up. Last year, Chinese drivers bought......
• Review of the Toyota Prius As with many of the vehicles released by Toyota, the Prius has truly become the bearer of standards within its segment. While many automakers still have not developed a green hybrid electric car, Toyota is already working on its second generation version of the Prius. This unique four door hybrid......
• Brandon Davis Of Denver Colorado Educates On Natural Gas! by Brandon Davis Brandon Davis of Bedrock Energy Development, . in Denver, Colorado stated, we are a Natural Gas Company and an Independent Oil Company that specializes in the acquiring of drill sites and fields in petroleum rich areas of the United States. Brandon Davis continued that finding natural gas......
• Green Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Toyota Prius Hybrid vehicles are being converted by their owners into vehicles that run purely on electricity. People who drive hybrid vehicles that are easy on gas to begin with are becoming increasingly interested in the idea of converting their vehicles from completely gasoline powered to completely electricity based. Drivers who own......
• What’s Next for Electric Cars? Electric cars have been the wave of the future, promising to provide us with the fuel-independent transportation alternative that we’ve been looking for. Car companies are scrambling to create the electric cars that we want, pushing out their newest electric models as quickly as they can. It is important for......

Ethanol Fuel Research

Ethanol is a viable, homegrown energy alternative to fossil fuel and is available today in E10 (10 percent ethanol/90 percent gasoline) and E85 (85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline) blends. Used as a clean-burning fuel additive, ethanol is a renewable fuel made from plants, usually from sugar cane and maize. There are five parts to the ethanol process; Conversion, fermentation, distillation, filtration and dehydration.

The University of Florida has been involved in biomass-to-energy research for about 20 years. New research at UF by Dr. Lonnie Ingram on variety of plant waste products proves that they are suitable for “cellulosic” ethanol production. The same kind of ethanol produced from this experiment too; but the source and process are different, allowing more efficient use of organic wastes for fuel production. It is proved that Ethanol blends are higher in octane than regular gas, about 100 compared to 87. Though we can see the difference in the reduction in fuel economy and less mileage per gallon, but the engine stays cooler, runs cleaner and produces less pollution.

Recent studies proved that it reduces the global warming due to its clean burning and cuts the greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent to 29 percent a gallon. It powers flux fuel vehicles. Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler have announced to producing 50 percent of their new vehicles as flex-fuel vehicles powered by E85 ethanol by 2010. Indy 500 utilized 100 percent ethanol in the tanks of 33 cars used in 2007 race and the drivers said that the use of ethanol improved the mileage by 30 percent.

The software genius Bill gates invested in Pacific Ethanol to help fund the construction of an ethanol plant in Madera County, California. Virgin Atlantic Airways’ Richard Branson has also invested in cellulosic ethanol plants to make fuel which is from the waste product of the plant and measured to be the next energy step after corn ethanol. DuPont plans to open its first pilot plant to manufacture cellulosic ethanol in 2008.

Get a better understanding of the your options when it comes to alternative fuels including methanol, ethanol, natural gas, hydrogen and others. Save the environment with smart decisions.

Free 7 Part Course On Alternative Fuels. http://www.AlternativeFuelChoice.com

• Australia Raises Interest Rates: How does This Affect Me? Perhaps the biggest financial news this week was that Australia, the Land Down Under, is the first G20 country to raise interest rates since the current (or just recently passed, depending on whom you ask) financial crisis began.  Yes, earlier this week Australia raised the interest rate offered by their......
• Should You Invest In Green Energy? Oil dropped below $114 today after hovering around $117 per barrel. But I still think the long term trend is up. According to Kevin Kerr, editor of a commodities investment newsletter, “The U.S. is filled with gas hogs, but the developing world is catching up. Last year, Chinese drivers bought......
• Green Electric Hybrid Car There is a revolution going on right now that has many consumers purchasing electric cars, hybrid cars and other green vehicles and cars as a means of increasing the efficiency of their vehicles while decreasing the emissions that their cars create while they are on the road. While one way......
• Introduction to the Hybrid Diesel Electric Car The hybrid diesel electric car has been under develop since as far back as early 1993 in the United States, but the only hybrid diesel electric vehicle to reach production so far has been the Dodge Ram. The Dodge Ram hybrid diesel electric car is build on the chassis for......
• EarthTalk: The State Of Wind Power In The U.S. EarthTalk is a weekly installment from E/The Environmental Magazine. Dear EarthTalk: How is wind power faring in the U.S. now? Is more of it coming on line and becoming a larger percent of the grid? And what about some of the highly publicized efforts to build wind farms, such as......