Interchange Blog
Benefits from Ethanol Blends between E20 and E40 Greater than Expected
In 2003 The United States of America consumed 476,474,000,000 litres (476.474 gigalitres), or about 360 million US liquid gallons (1.36 gigalitres) of gasoline each day.
Green Car Congress1 relays research findings from a new study, co-sponsored by the US Department of Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol, (so you know that it will be politically sound science). In any case, the study, found that mid-range ethanol blends—fuel mixtures with more ethanol than 10% (E10) but less than 85% (E85)—can in some cases provide better fuel economy than regular unleaded gasoline, even in standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles and also can reduce harmful tailpipe emissions.
Previous assumptions held that ethanol’s lower energy content directly correlates with lower fuel economy for drivers. Those assumptions were found to be incorrect. Instead, the new research suggests that there is an optimal blend level of ethanol and gasoline—most likely E20 or E30—at which cars will get better mileage than predicted based strictly on the fuel’s per-gallon Btu content. The optimal blend varies with the vehicle, according to the findings.
The University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) and the Minnesota Center for Automotive Research (MnCAR) conducted the research using four 2007 model vehicles: a Toyota Camry, a Ford Fusion and two Chevrolet Impalas, one flex-fuel and one non-flex-fuel.
Researchers used the EPA Highway Fuel Economy Test (HWFET) to examine a range of ethanol-gasoline blends from straight Tier 2 gasoline up to 85 percent ethanol. All of the vehicles got better mileage with ethanol blends than the ethanol’s energy content would predict, and three out of four actually traveled farther on a mid-level ethanol blend than on unleaded gasoline.
With approximately 4.5 million, flex-fuel capable motor vehicles now on American roads, this blog advocated for that many vehicles to operate on an E-85 blend, so that Americans could begin to make some claim to a change in direction, i.e., actually taking responsible action toward the mitigation of climate change. Now imagine if the total number of gasoline powered cars, approximately 243 million vehicles, were running on E40.
Thus, this blog now would seem to have made an incorrect statement that should be qualified:
Until cellulosic ethanol production become established ethanol typically> is more expensive than gasoline, Since blends with higher concentrations it has have less energy value, it offers they offer cleaner, but fewer miles per gallon.
The comment was part of an observation about market forces at play. Announcement of such new research is very timely, given the “Big Stall2“. There is a glut of ethanol on the transportation fuel market attributed to Big Oil resisting, undermining and blocking the spread of ethanol acceptance by consumers and the marketplace.
In addition to the favorable fuel economy findings, the research provides strong evidence that standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles can operate on ethanol blends beyond E10.
Emissions results for the ethanol blends were favorable for nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and non-methane organic gases, showing an especially significant reduction in CO2 emissions for each vehicle’s optimal ethanol blend (E20 for the flex-fuel Chevy, E30 for the Toyota and Ford, E40 for the non-flex Chevy).
In his neck of the woods, they make biodiesel from palm oil. The palm oil boom threatens the orangutan environment. Oh, by the way, deforestation contributes to end of life on the planet as we know it.
In other words, distributors could be mandated to offer E30 at the pump. Such a mandate is unlikely, while the Oily Administration is at the helm and Congress members receive so much campaign funding from the oil companies.
Ethanol’s energy content was not found to be a direct predictor of fuel economy. All four vehicles tested exhibited better fuel economy with the ethanol blends than the Btu-value estimates predicted.
E20 and E30 ethanol blends outperformed unleaded gasoline in fuel economy tests for certain autos. Contrary to Btu-based estimates of fuel economy for ethanol blends, three of the four vehicles tested achieved their highest fuel efficiency not on gasoline, but on an ethanol blend. Mid-level blends of ethanol E20 (20% ethanol, 80% gasoline) and E30 (30% ethanol, 70% gasoline) offered the best fuel economy in these tests.
E30 offered better fuel economy than gasoline (a 1% increase) in both the Toyota and the Ford.
E20 offered better fuel economy than gasoline (a 15% increase) in the flex-fuel Chevrolet.
The non-flex-fuel Chevrolet more closely followed the Btu-calculated trend for fuel economy, but did experience a significant improvement over the trend line with E40 (40% ethanol, 60% gasoline), indicating that this may be the optimal ethanol blend level for this vehicle.
Similar Posts: Biobutanol Flex-Fuel Engine Management System UC Berkeley Study Boosts Cellulosic Ethanol What the Survey for Renewable Fuels Now Found Yellow Gas Caps 1Study Finds Certain Ethanol Blends Can Provide Better Fuel Economy Than Gasoline 2Ethanol’s Boom Stalling as Glut Depresses Price
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