Why do people not like ethanol in fuel?
Ethanol can attract moisture, which can lead to corrosion and other issues in fuel systems. Additionally, ethanol has less energy content per volume compared to gasoline, which can result in reduced fuel efficiency in some vehicles.
Ethanol blended gasoline can cause serious engine damage when used regularly. It is corrosive and highly water soluble, often leading to storage problems. If left, water in the fuel system can cause rusting, fuel degradation and other problems. Ethanol fuel is also associated with microbial contamination.
BUT, E15 or higher is illegal to use in boats or other gasoline-powered equipment in the United States, because due to the water absorbing properties of ethanol, it can damage the components.
Higher-ethanol blends still produce significant levels of air pollution, reduce fuel efficiency, jack up corn and other food prices, and have been treated with skepticism by some car manufacturers for the damage they do to engines. Growing corn to run our cars was a bad idea 10 years ago.
The process to harvest and produce corn-based ethanol creates more harmful emissions than normal gasoline, according to a new report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
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.
Ethanol can lead to malnutrition, and can exert a direct toxicological effect due to its interference with hepatic metabolism and immunological functions. A causal effect has been observed between alcohol and various cancers.
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.
Advantages of Using Ethanol as a Fuel
For example, ethanol-fueled vehicles produce lower carbon dioxide emissions. E85, ethanol-gasoline blends that contain 51% to 83% ethanol,1 also has fewer volatile components than gasoline, which means fewer gas emissions from evaporation.
Using pure gas can lead to better mileage. But increased fuel economy from using ethanol-free gas may be offset by its higher cost. Non-ethanol gasoline typically costs more than ethanol-blended varieties. Using non-ethanol gas in your car won't harm the vehicle's engine.
Does ethanol destroy engines?
It can damage OLDER gas engines - but not newer ones. The deal is that ethanol slowly dissolves natural materials like rubber and cork… both of which are found in gasoline engines from at least the 1960's and maybe into the 1970's. It was common to have rubber gas lines, rubber seals and cork gaskets.
Ethanol. Pros: Reduces demand for foreign oil, low emissions, high octane, and can potentially be produced from waste materials; existing cars can use 10-percent blends (called E10), and more than 8 million cars already on the road can use E85. Cons: Twenty-five percent lower fuel economy on E85 than gasoline.
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.
The use of pure hydrous or anhydrous ethanol in internal combustion engines (ICEs) is only possible if the engines are designed or modified for that purpose.
Ethanol is the most widely available source of gasoline substitute, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Ethanol gas causes corrosion within a car's fuel system due to alcohol content, and its counterpart doesn't. Ethanol gas has a smaller service life of about three months, while non-ethanol gas has about six months. Ethanol gas produces fewer emissions than the other type.
Alcohol, sometimes referred to by the chemical name ethanol, is a depressant drug that is the active ingredient in fermented drinks such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits (hard liquor).
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.
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.
[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.
Do cars run better without ethanol?
Improved mileage: You will get better fuel efficiency with ethanol-free gas in your vehicle. Less dependence on ethanol crops: This benefit may bring down the price of corn in the future as fewer crops grow.
Is Premium or Mid-Grade Fuel Worth the Extra Money? Premium gas doesn't provide any more power or contain better additives than regular gas, and it contains the same amount of ethanol as other grades. It just resists detonation (knock) better than lower-octane gas—nothing more, nothing less.
E85 engines are designed to withstand the corrosive effects of ethanol, but prolonged use of ethanol fuel can still potentially cause damage to the engine over time.
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.
There has been more testing of Unleaded 88 than any other fuel additive in the history of the EPA fuel waiver process. In 6 million miles of testing, the U.S. Department of Energy found no problems with the use of Unleaded 88 in the numerous vehicles selected.
