Nearly each and every United States president since Jimmy Carter has said something about reducing dependence on foreign oil for gas. Along the way, individuals have tried to come up with different fuels for transportation. One of these ideas was to use the compound ethanol. Most gas stations use E10, or a 10 percent ethanol mixture, within the gas they sell already. Currently, the EPA is considering whether to approve use of E15 for late or older models. There isn’t a great deal of science out on it yet. That is why auto makers are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to hold off on deciding.
The E15 determination
The EPA has the oversight on approving new fuels. Right now, it is weighing the merits of E15. E15 means a 15 percent ethanol gas mixture. Currently, it is being tested by the Department of Energy, according to Popular Mechanics. The idea is discover out if it works in cars no older than 10 years old. That is not an incredibly realistic testing range. About 88 percent of all automobiles in use in the United States are over 10 years of age. The Auto Alliance, a consortium of automobile manufacturers, has urged the Environmental Protection Agency not for making any ruling on E15 until Auto Alliance studies have been completed. At least one study, by engineering group Ricardo, Inc., found that E15 has no harmful effects on vehicles older than 10 years.
Drinking and driving now has a whole other meaning
Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol or more colorfully as moonshine, is a distillation of alcohol from grain. The energy potential of a chemical is determined by its combustibility, and ethanol is certainly combustible. That said, ethanol has 34 percent less energy per unit of volume than gasoline, according to Wikipedia. As result, an ethanol-only engine uses 50 percent more fuel than a gasoline engine. With greater compression, ethanol engines can produce more power and become more efficient. However, ethanol as a fuel has not been proven to achieve greater fuel efficiency, or miles per gallon, than gasoline has.
Butterfly effects
A great deal of grain is already getting used for a fuel crop. However, the danger with supplanting gas with ethanol is that crops, especially grains, increase in scarcity and therefore cost. Cheap and abundant grain can’t be discounted, as that is the very thing which made, and still makes, civilization itself possible.
Discover more details on this subject
Popular Mechanics
popularmechanics.com/cars/alternative-fuel/biofuels/renewable-fuels-association-urges-epa-to-approve-e15-for-older-vehicles?click=pm_news
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel
