2008 Woodie Awards
Ethanol as fuel has pros and cons
Colby Stream
Issue date: 8/20/08 Section: News
If you're not careful, ethanol could eat your car.
Ethanol breaks down natural rubber and corrodes aluminum - two materials that can be used to create hoses and gas tanks.
Don't get too worried yet.
When it comes to fuel options there are two different types of cars.
The first type of car is the run-of-the-mill vehicle. These should run on no more than a 10 or 15 percent mix of ethanol into gasoline.
According to Boise State Building Facility Specialist Pat Carlson, there should be no problems with rubber or aluminum at this ratio because manufacturers began designing cars in 1979 to run on a 90/10 mixture of gasoline/ethanol.
The other type is a flex fuel car. A flex fuel car is designed to take a mixture of up to 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. This is called E85.
"When you have a vehicle that runs E85 it can have varying amounts," Carlson said. "You can run gasoline in that car as well as E85."
Ethanol, in essence, is whiskey. The only difference is it's distilled for longer. Since sugar is needed for this process to work, anything with high sugar content can be used to make ethanol.
"Ethanol is made from organic material … you can make it from corn," Carlson said. "That's what the biggest thing right now is."
This "big thing" could change soon. Carlson said the weed known as "switch grass," which has high sugar content, is now in the research stage to see if it can be used to make ethanol.
And that's not all. General Motors and the University of Illinois are experimenting with turning garbage into ethanol, Carlson said.
One advantage to mixing ethanol with gasoline is reduced gas prices at the pump.
However, the government Website fueleconomy.gov compares the prices of gasoline versus an E85 mixture on certain flex fuel vehicles. It shows that more money is spent on E85 in a year than on gasoline.
Ethanol does not have as much power per ounce as gasoline does, according to Carlson. Mileage can drop as a result, causing the need to buy more E85 mixture than gasoline.
Ethanol breaks down natural rubber and corrodes aluminum - two materials that can be used to create hoses and gas tanks.
Don't get too worried yet.
When it comes to fuel options there are two different types of cars.
The first type of car is the run-of-the-mill vehicle. These should run on no more than a 10 or 15 percent mix of ethanol into gasoline.
According to Boise State Building Facility Specialist Pat Carlson, there should be no problems with rubber or aluminum at this ratio because manufacturers began designing cars in 1979 to run on a 90/10 mixture of gasoline/ethanol.
The other type is a flex fuel car. A flex fuel car is designed to take a mixture of up to 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. This is called E85.
"When you have a vehicle that runs E85 it can have varying amounts," Carlson said. "You can run gasoline in that car as well as E85."
Ethanol, in essence, is whiskey. The only difference is it's distilled for longer. Since sugar is needed for this process to work, anything with high sugar content can be used to make ethanol.
"Ethanol is made from organic material … you can make it from corn," Carlson said. "That's what the biggest thing right now is."
This "big thing" could change soon. Carlson said the weed known as "switch grass," which has high sugar content, is now in the research stage to see if it can be used to make ethanol.
And that's not all. General Motors and the University of Illinois are experimenting with turning garbage into ethanol, Carlson said.
One advantage to mixing ethanol with gasoline is reduced gas prices at the pump.
However, the government Website fueleconomy.gov compares the prices of gasoline versus an E85 mixture on certain flex fuel vehicles. It shows that more money is spent on E85 in a year than on gasoline.
Ethanol does not have as much power per ounce as gasoline does, according to Carlson. Mileage can drop as a result, causing the need to buy more E85 mixture than gasoline.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Dr. Jeffrey B. Zeiger
posted 8/20/08 @ 7:41 AM MST
Greetings: I enjoyed your comments about ethanol... as you stated...be careful where you find your information....however, most sites that offer accuracy are not necessarily governmental sites. (Continued…)
Geoff Smith
posted 8/20/08 @ 10:02 AM MST
From what I've read in Consumer Reports, a few governmental bodies (Ag and Energy depts) have noted that ethanol has little to no effect on food prices. (Continued…)
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