What are the cons of ethanol fuel?
One of the primary disadvantages of ethanol is that it is not as energy-dense as gasoline. This means that it has a lower energy content and is less efficient than gasoline. As a result, vehicles that use ethanol as a fuel source may not get as many miles per gallon as those that use gasoline.
The research, which was funded in part by the National Wildlife Federation and U.S. Department of Energy, found that ethanol is likely at least 24% more carbon-intensive than gasoline due to emissions resulting from land use changes to grow corn, along with processing and combustion.
State of play: Ethanol produces more carbon emissions than gasoline because of the amount of farmland that's required to grow the corn crops and the tillage associated with it, Reuters reports.
Ethanol breaks down quickly, sometimes as quickly as 3 weeks. This break down creates clumps in the gasoline mixture at some point and this may clog the filter, carburetor, fuel line, etc. It also wreaks havoc on fuel lines not designed specifically for ethanol.
Higher octane rating: Ethanol has a higher octane rating than gasoline, which can improve engine performance. Disadvantages: Lower energy content: Ethanol has a lower energy content per gallon compared to gasoline, resulting in reduced fuel efficiency and potentially higher fuel consumption.
E85 Ethanol
It burns more cleanly than gasoline, and helps stretch the finite supply of gas further. However, the mileage in a car isn't as good a regular gas. The gain in air pollution is offset by the lack of mileage, making for an awkward tradeoff, with methanol still out ahead as a fuel.
[4] The International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that both the ethanol in alcohol and acetaldehyde, a chemical formed from the breakdown of ethanol, are carcinogenic to humans in high amounts. [5] The risk is multiplied for drinkers who also smoke tobacco or have a poor diet.
Long touted as a renewable fuel emitting 20 percent fewer greenhouse gasses than gasoline, ethanols' emissions may be 24 percent higher. If verified, one expert said the finding shows ethanol failed spectacularly.
As with conventional fuels, the use and storage of ethanol blends can result in emissions of regulated pollutants, toxic chemicals, and greenhouse gases (GHGs).
Ethanol is an earth-friendly biofuel. Corn ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent, and advanced biofuels can reduce emissions by 100 percent or more over gasoline. These percentages continue to increase with ongoing innovations in biofuel production.
What is one disadvantage of ethanol compared to gasoline?
Ethanol: Contains significantly less energy per gallon than gasoline. Is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs water out of the air, which means it can damage engines due to excess water content if not handled carefully.
Loss of mileage from use of ethanol blends results from the ethanol molecule containing less energy value than gasoline. The energy value in petroleum fuels is a function of the number of carbon bonds in the molecule.
Ethanol contains about one-third less energy than gasoline. So, vehicles will typically go 3% to 4% fewer miles per gallon on E10 and 4% to 5% fewer on E15 than on 100% gasoline.
Disadvantages: Ethanol has lower energy density that gasoline so you will get lower fuel mileage from your car. Ethanol eats up seals in some older gasoline engines. Since laws requiring ethanol also require it from corn stocks it drives up the price of food stocks from the competition.
Ethanol is nasty stuff. It corrodes the metals and alloys used in the fuel systems of classic cars, and it also seriously shortens the life of any rubber or plastic components it comes into contact with, such as fuel lines. Such damage is not necessarily obvious in the short to medium term. It's cumulative over time.
Ethanol is also an excellent solvent. Simply put, it will dissolve plastic, rubber, fiberglass and much more, potentially causing serious problems to small engines.
Overall, ethanol is considered to be better for the environment than traditional gasoline. For example, ethanol-fueled vehicles produce lower carbon dioxide emissions.
Fuel Economy and Performance
If they were optimized to run on higher ethanol blends, fuel economy would likely increase as a result of increased engine efficiency. Ethanol also has a higher octane number than gasoline, which provides increased power and performance.
Ethanol adds two to three points of octane to ordinary unleaded gasoline, so it boosts the performance of your engine. Because of its high oxygen content, ethanol burns more completely than ordinary unleaded gasoline and reduces harmful tailpipe emissions. Ethanol prevents gas line freeze-up.
We found over time the E85 wasn't good for motors and fuel systems. E15 has a much lower percentage of ethanol that isn't as harmful to newer motors.” The EPA says E15 can be used in flexible-fuel vehicles, as well as 2001 and newer cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty SUVs.
What is the cleanest fuel to burn?
Natural gas one of the safest and cleanest fuels available. It emits less pollution than other fossil fuel sources. When natural gas is burned, it produces mostly carbon dioxide and water vapor -- the same substances emitted when humans exhale.
The Ethanol Industry Boosts Harmful Factory Farms
They discharge vast amounts of pollutants, including carbon emissions, animal waste, and antibiotics. We have long-known that factory farms bring sickness and unlivable conditions to nearby communities.
The toxicity of ethanol is believed to be in good part, due to the toxicity of its primary metabolic product, acetaldehyde (AcH). AcH is readily produced in the liver and circulates throughout the body primarily in bound covalent form with proteins, and also in the free state, to a very slight degree.
Is ethanol bad for the environment? Today's corn-based ethanol reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by roughly 40 – 50 percent compared to regular gasoline, according to recent studies by Harvard, USDA and the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.
Planting massive amounts of corn to make corn ethanol is not just a climate disaster. The practice has also led to increased fertilizer run-off, polluting local waterways, making water too toxic for swimming and too toxic to drink.
