E85

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Logo used in the United States for E85 fuel

E85 is an alcohol fuel mixture that typically contains a mixture of up to 85% denatured fuel ethanol and gasoline or other hydrocarbon (HC) by volume. On an undenatured basis, the ethanol component ranges from 70% to 83%. E85 as a fuel is widely used in Sweden and is becoming increasingly common in the United States, mainly in the Midwest where corn is a major crop and is the primary source material for ethanol fuel production; however as yet, there are about 1900 filling stations selling E85 to the public in the US,^[1] and, until recently, only three in Canada.^[2][3] It is also available across most of the Maxol chain in Ireland.

There are questions about the use of biofuels like E85, ostensibly to reduce carbon emissions, when they may have a large carbon footprint according to one study.^[4] This topic is currently under debate.

[edit] Use in flexible-fuel vehicles

Postal Service truck running on E85 fuel and advertising its use

E-85 ethanol is used in engines modified to accept higher concentrations of ethanol. Such flexible-fuel vehicles (FFV) are designed to run on any mixture of gasoline or ethanol with up to 85% ethanol by volume. There are a few major differences between FFVs and non-FFVs. One is the elimination of bare magnesium, aluminum, and rubber parts in the fuel system. Another is that fuel pumps must be capable of operating with electrically conductive ethanol instead of non-conducting dielectric gasoline fuel. Fuel injection control systems have a wider range of pulse widths to inject approximately 40% more fuel. Stainless steel fuel lines, sometimes lined with plastic, and stainless steel fuel tanks in place of terne fuel tanks are used. In some cases, FFVs use acid-neutralizing motor oil. For vehicles with fuel-tank mounted fuel pumps, additional differences to prevent arcing, as well as flame arrestors positioned in the tank's fill pipe, are also sometimes used.^{[citations needed]}

For the 2009 automobile year, General Motors will offer 23 different engine/model flex-fuel vehicle combinations.^[5] Ford Motor company offers eight models,^[6] Chrysler will offer 11 models,^[7] and Toyota will offer just two.^[8]

Honda does not offer any E85 powered flexfuel vehicles in 2009.^[9]

GM has stated a commitment to dedicate 50% of its production to Flex-Fuel E85 capable vehicles by the 2012 model year.^[10]

As of 2008, there were an estimated 7 million Flex-Fuel capable vehicles on the road in the United States. A recent GM study found that roughly 70 percent of its flex-fuel vehicle owners did not know they could use E85, and fewer than 10 percent did so.^[11]

[edit] Comparisons to regular gasoline

Depending on composition and source, E85 has an octane rating of 100–105^[12] compared to regular gasoline's typical rating of 85–93. This allows it to be used in higher compression engines which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts. Since the reciprocating mass of the engine increases in proportion to the displacement of the engine E85 has a higher potential efficiency for an engine of equal power.

One complication is that use of gasoline in an engine with a high enough compression ratio to use E85 efficiently would likely result in catastrophic failure due to engine detonation, as the octane rating of gasoline is not high enough to withstand the greater compression ratios in use in an engine specifically designed to run on E85. Use of E85 in an engine designed specifically for gasoline would result in a loss of the potential efficiency that it is possible to gain with this fuel. Using E85 in a gasoline engine has the drawback of achieving lower fuel economy as more fuel is needed per unit air (stoichiometric fuel ratio) to run the engine in comparison with gasoline. This corresponds to a lower heating value (units of energy per unit mass) for E85 than gasoline.

E85 consumes more fuel in flex fuel type vehicles when the vehicle uses the same compression for both E85 and gasoline because of its lower stoichiometric fuel ratio and lower heating value. European car maker Saab currently produces a flex fuel version of their 9-5 sedan which consumes the same amount of fuel whether running e85 or gasoline,^[13] though it is not available in the United States. So in order to save money at the pump with current flex fuel vehicles available in the United States the price of E85 must be much lower than gasoline. Currently E85 is about 5-10% less expensive in most areas.^[14] More than 20 fueling stations across the Midwest are selling E85 at the same price as gasoline.^[15] E85 also gets less MPG, at least in flex fuel vehicles. In one test, a Chevy Tahoe flex-fuel vehicle averaged 18 MPG [U.S. gallons] for gasoline, and 13 MPG for E85, or 28% fewer MPG than gasoline. In that test, the cost of gas averaged $3.42, while the cost for E85 averaged $3.09, or 90% the cost of gasoline.^[16][17] In another test, however, a fleet of Ford Tauruses averaged only about 6% fewer miles per gallon in the ethanol-based vehicles as compared to traditional, gas-powered Tauruses.^[18]

[edit] In the United States

The following text needs to be harmonized with text in E85 in the United States.

As of December 31, 2008, there were about 1921 public E85 fueling stations available in the United States.^[19] Prices vary by location, some prices over 30% less than regular gasoline. In other places it has been more expensive.

The number of gas stations offering E85 is expected to double over the next year as service stations are being offered incentives from government and ethanol industry grants up to $30,000 for the costs of retro-fitting pumps and tanks for E85 fuel. Unfortunately, this does little to offset the cost to install pumps and tanks for E85—a hefty $200,000 per station.^[20] Although ethanol contains about 65% by volume of the energy that gasoline does, the per gallon cost of E85 is 75% the price of regular unleaded gasoline. The overall consumer cost of E85 is close to E10, and any short term price advantage is usually lost because vehicles usually burn E85 quicker than regular fuel.

A recent development in the expansion of E85 filling stations is Wal-Mart's announcement that it will possibly sell E85 at its 385 gas stations countrywide. Wal-Mart along with its popular division, Sam's Club has a partnership with Murphy Oil Corp. which operates more than 9,000 gas stations in Wal-Mart parking lots. Should they decide to follow through with plans, Wal-mart has the potential to be the single largest retailer of E85 in the nation.^[21] Grocery retailers in Texas are also beginning to sell E85 at some fuel stations.^[22][23]

Business leaders like Richard Branson, Paul Allen, Steve Case, Vinod Khosla, John Doerr, and Bill Gates have become ethanol advocates and are investing heavily in ethanol.^{[citation needed]} Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is investing in a Seattle firm that wants to use canola oil, to create biodiesel, a biofuel associated with ethanol. And Vinod Khosla, the Kleiner Perkins partner and Sun Microsystems co-founder, has investments in two cellulosic ethanol companies. Microsoft's Bill Gates, has bought 25% of Pacific Ethanol, a Fresno, California company that is planning to build dozens of ethanol refineries in the U.S. In July 2006 Goldman Sachs invested $27 million into a Canadian company called Iogen, which wants to produce ethanol from switchgrass, a perennial grass that is inexpensive to grow. Iogen, a non-publicly traded company, is building the world's first full-scale commercial cellulose-to-ethanol plant by 2010. Another reason for ethanol's popularity is its contribution toward providing economic revitalization in rural communities across the country.

The U.S. Congress passed the The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which mandates an increase in the use of biofuels in a new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), including ethanol, through the year 2022.^[24]

[edit] Environmental Impact

The initial assumption that biofuels were good for the environment because they had a smaller carbon footprint is in debate because some claim that the production of grain alcohol, and therefore E85, may actually have a greater environmental impact than fossil fuel.^[25][26]

That view says that one must consider:

• The forest land cleared for the additional corn (or other source of alcohol); allowing trees to grow on the land would have locked up more carbon.^[27]
• The huge carbon footprint of the agricultural machinery run to plant and harvest, and to spread chemicals in between.
• The environmental impact of those chemicals themselves, including fertilizers and pesticides necessary for efficient mass-production of the grains used.
• The larger amount of energy required to ship and process the grains and turn them into alcohol, versus the more efficient process of converting oil into gasoline or diesel.
• Even resources such as water, needed in huge amounts for grain production, can have serious environmental impact, including ground water depletion, pollution runoff, and algae blooms from waste runoff.^[28]

Others say that Ethanol from corn, as a fuel available now, and cellulostic ethanol in the future, both are much better fuels for the environment.^[29]

            The U.S. Department of Energy has published facts stating that current corn-based ethanol results in a 19% reduction in greenhouse gases, and is better for the environment than other gasoline additives such as MTBE.[29]

Ethanol produced today results in fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than gasoline and is fully biodegradable, unlike some fuel additives.

• Today, on a life cycle basis, ethanol produced from corn results in about a 20 percent reduction in GHG emissions relative to gasoline. With improved efficiency and use of renewable energy, this reduction could be as much as 52 percent.^[29]
• In the future, ethanol produced from cellulose has the potential to cut life cycle GHG emissions by up to 86 percent relative to gasoline.^[29]
• Ethanol blended fuels currently in the market – whether E10 or E85 – meet stringent tailpipe emission standards.^[29]
• Ethanol readily biodegrades without harm to the environment, and is a safe, high-performance replacement for fuel additives such as MTBE.^[29]

Regardless of one's position on the biofuel ethanol debate, ethanol is and will continue to be a growing energy source in the future.

EPA's stringent Tier II vehicle emission standards require that FFVs achieve the same low emissions level regardless of whether E85 or gasoline is used. However, E85 can further reduce emissions of certain pollutants as compared to conventional gasoline or lower volume ethanol blends. For example, E85 is less volatile than gasoline or low volume ethanol blends, which results in fewer evaporative emissions. Using E85 also reduces carbon monoxide emissions and provides significant reductions in emissions of many harmful toxics, including benzene, a known human carcinogen. However, E85 also increases emissions of acetaldehyde—a toxic pollutant. EPA is conducting additional analysis to expand our understanding of the emissions impacts of E85.^[30]

[edit] See also

energy portal

• Air-fuel ratio
• Alcohol fuel
• Biodiesel
• Butanol
• Common ethanol fuel mixtures – common ratios other than 85%/15%.
• E85 in standard engines
• E85 in the United States
• Earth's atmosphere
• Ethanol fuel
• Ethride
• Fuel injection
• lambda sensor – also known as an oxygen sensor, used to measure lean versus rich combustion conditions
• Methanol – wood alcohol, not to be confused with ethanol (grain alcohol)
• Stoichiometry – thermodynamics issues for obtaining the proper air fuel mixture for complete combustion
• Switchgrass – a hardy perennial grass that is being considered as a biofuel
• Timeline of alcohol fuel

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008)

• US Department of Energy

Handbook for Handling Storing and Dispensing E85 National Rewnewable Energy Laboratory, April 2006

• Center for American Progress

Flex-Fuel Bait and Switch - See how many flex-fuel cars are on the road and how many stations offer E85.

• Eric Kvaalen, Philip C. Wankat, Bruce A. McKenzie. ethanol Distillation: Basic Principles, Equipment, Performance Relationships, and Safety Purdue University, April 1984.
• Matthew Phenix. Liquor Does It Quicker. Popular Science, June 2005.
• Ohio E85 Fleet Test Results
• Properties of ethanol Transportation Fuels - USDOE Report, Alcohol Fuels Reference Work #1, July 1991 (Especially Chapter 7 [1] for corrosion and increased engine wear risks associated with water-contaminated E85)
• University of Michigan E85 Emissions Report
• University of Michigan E85 Control of Emissions Report
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln Report on E85 Conversion of Silverado Pickup
• LiveGreen GoYellow
• Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Impacts of Fuel Ethanol Argonne National Laborator

[edit] External links

• SEKAB BioFuels & Chemicals
• American Coalition of Ethanol E10 - E30 Fuel Economy Study
• U.S. DOE's Alternative Fuels Data Center - Ethanol
• EPA Presentation and Technical paper it is based upon.
• USDA Ethanol Production Cost Reduction Announcement - US Government Tax Subsidy to End in 2007

• Iowa State University - ISU Formula SAE E85 Run Racecar
• Winning The Oil Endgame Rocky Mountain Institute's fuel strategy
• Think Outside The Barrel - Video of a talk by Vinod Khosla at Google TechTalks
• Flex-fuel Bait and Switch - See how many flex-fuel cars are on the road and how many fuel stations offer E85.
• Toda la información sobre el combustible E85 bioetanol en España. WWW.E85.ES
• E85 Blog Articles e85safety.com