There goes that bubble. It's not that Ethanol isn't cleaner. It's that the land used, fetilizers, watering systems, pesticides and herbicides and fuel used to make it cleaner pollute more or equally to gasoline. They're gonna study for better techniques: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30579857/ What I don't get is why they don't make Ethanol from wood chips, old forest brush or city trash. Over 40% of the world has corn as a central item in their diet, with Canada, Mexico and the US as the biggest producers. We've almost converted our corn farmers and barley farmers to produce ethanol corn, and ship it to the US to refine it. Meanwhile, here in my Province, we've been producing Fuel Ethanol from our regional garbage for over 4 years, by the government and city Conservation departments.
I and many have known this for quite some time. The corn lobby in the US is very strong and it gets subsidised. It would be more money than gasoline if it weren't subsidised. In a standard naturally aspirated engine, I don't see an advantage espescially since you get lower horsepower from it. Now change that engine to a high compression or supercharged/turbocharged engine then you can take advantage of the much higher octane and it serves as cheap race gas. A buddy of mine has a Ford 2.3 turbo running on E85 with 512 HP at the wheels. Brazil has been using ethanol since World War II and makes their Ethanol out of sugar cane which is a more efficient way. There are supposed to be some sugar cane refineries up this year in the US.
Right, and they're making us use it in our engines that are not optimized for it! The ONLY gas I can buy here that does not contain ethanol is Shell 91. There are no choices available to the consumer and it's getting shoved down the throats of our carbs and throttle bodies!
You'd be better off installing a water injector with the Shell 91. Ethanol has too much water content and natural sugar (source of its fuel qualities) in it. Sugar destroys an engine in about 3 hours, if you put it in someone's gastank. A college buddy found out the hard way. :banghead3:
I don't follow you, why? It's a good gas, and delivers good performance. I just think every company should offer ethanol-free gas. There must be money it for them to cut the gas with ethanol, or they wouldn't be doing it.
I think you're right about ethanol. It does hurt the car. But if you have to use the 91, and added a water injector, you'd get more HP, fewer emissions and better mileage. Have a look: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_motherearth/me3.html Ok, it's on a carbed car, but even Ford has had water injection as an option over the years, and optional on their big diesel semis, even today.
As was pointed out, the Ethanol from our landfill is cheaper to make, but just barely break-even. From Corn, it's a political green game, helping out Conservative farmers who's grain prices are control. Corn really sucks out the nutrients from farmland, and depending if they Fallow their land or not, needs articifial steroids (fertilizers, etc.). Take a drive in July through Southern Saskatchewan. It used to be called the Dust Bowl. With subsidies, they plant low grade corn and are guaranteed payment. Before, they couldn't afford the irrigation. And the accidents on highways from sandstorms were really bad and expensive.
Ethanol is a requirement in most areas to help reduce emissions. I'm sure the oil companys would love not having to have the extra step of adding ethanol.
Yep, that's a fact. But its not a wholistic view of cutting emissions. Its more focussed on the automotive industry. Have a look at how some cities are killing a whole bunch of birds with a sharper knife: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerization They use all those plastic bags to improve the fuel yield, making Light Crude from landfill trash. Imagine how much cleaner our streets and highways would be. How much less land we'd be using to store trash. How our cities wouldn't have to ship trash to other countries. Like Vancouver, BC shipping its trash to Oregon for instance. Our Michigan to Northern Ontario, Canada. And all that land available for food crops, in a hungry and overpopulated planet? Light Crude is the basis for vehicle diesel fuel. Down with emissions too.
