Dec 16 2006
The facts are powerful:
- Gasoline enriched with ethanol contains more oxygen — so it burns cleaner, leaving fewer deposits and keeping fuel injectors and intake valves cleaner.
- Ethanol-enriched fuel can reduce pre-ignition problems (knocking/pinging).
- Ethanol-enriched gasoline can tolerate water contamination to a far greater degree than gasoline alone — it absorbs moisture and helps prevent gasoline freeze-up in cold weather.
- Beginning in 2006, 10 percent ethanol-enriched methanol will be powering all vehicles in the IndyCar® Series — which oversees many races, including the annual Indianapolis 500.
- The heat energy of all gasoline-based motor fuel varies somewhat by formulation, region and time of year. Ethanol burns slightly cooler than straight gasoline: On average, a gallon of 10% ethanol-enriched gasoline contains about 112,000 BTUs of heat energy, compared to 114,000 BTUs for straight gasoline. Cooler combustion temperatures contribute to increased engine longevity.
- Adding 10% ethanol to regular unleaded gas typically increases the octane rating from 87 to 89.5 or higher. This boost can reduce knocking and pinging, and allows cars with knock sensors to gain increased power.
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Ethanol Betters The Environment... And The Economy
In addition to ethanol's performance advantages, its air-quality benefits are great also. Because ethanol-enriched gasoline contains more oxygen than regular gasoline, it burns more completely, which reduces carbon monoxide emissions. And since ethanol is produced here in the United States, it creates jobs and helps reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources. - Michigan has one ethanol plant in operation and three under construction.
- Other tests and studies suggest that fuel economy may decrease by approximately 2% in fuel-injected cars, such that a car averaging 30 miles per gallon (MPG) on the highway would average 29.4 MPG using an ethanol-blended fuel (10% ethanol), not enough to be detected by the average driver. For E85, it has a much higher octane (ranging from 100 to 105) than gasoline. FFVs are not optimized to E85, so they experience a 5% to 15% drop in fuel economy. This will vary based on temperature and driving conditions.
