Why are we still using ethanol?

[MossRoad]

I just let that one slide on by (pun intended).

HAHAHAHAaaaahahah!!!! About spit my beverage! :thumbsup:

 

[doneill127]

If I remember correctly in 1990 the govt mandated oxygenated gasoline to reduce carbon emissions. MBTE was added to almost all gas. Then MBTE was found to be contaminating the groundwater and was banned. Ethanol Was the replacement for the MBTE. Are there subsidies yup, does it hurt mileage yup, does it decrease carbon emissions yup

 

[ovrszd]

In regards to emissions, here's my small world naive thoughts.

If I'm in a room full of smokers. Does it do any good for me to not smoke?

 

[doneill127]

I get your point. I’ve traveled to some countries where you couldn’t see a building two blocks away because of the pollution. Don’t want to start or get into a discussion on emissions because I believe the lines between science and politics has become blurred. I was trying to answer the question why we are still using ethanol. It replaced MBTE as an oxygenate

 

[ArlyA]

You got that right. MBTE is some bad crap!

I get your point. I’ve traveled to some countries where you couldn’t see a building two blocks away because of the pollution. Don’t want to start or get into a discussion on emissions because I believe the lines between science and politics has become blurred. I was trying to answer the question why we are still using ethanol. It replaced MBTE as an oxygenate

 

[ericm979]

MTBE and then Ethanol reduced emissions in older carbureted and early fuel injection cars. Both have the effect of leaning out the fuel/air ratio. MTBE supplies oxygen. Ethanol requires less oxygen per unit of fuel. Older vehicles ran too rich. Tinkering with the fuel leaned them out a little and made them run cleaner. But modern cars have closed loop FI which adjusts the fuel ratios based on the oxygen in the exhaust. The ethanol has no effect on emissions in a modern car- it adds fuel to compensate. Modern cars already run as lean as they can- they lean out and advance timing until knock is detected then back off just a little.

Arguably ethanol also served a purpose for "energy independence"- making domestic fuel so we aren't as dependent on imported fuel. But with fracking we now are a net exporter of fuel. So that reason's also no longer valid. At this point ethanol is purely a political product. I'm generally in favor of emissions regulations as they have made the air in our region much cleaner. But this one's bogus. It's yet another way that politicians enable big business to harvest money from the citizenry.

 

[hawkeye08]

We should eliminate the subsidy for ethanol in stages, and see if it is viable without subsidies. It was a good experiment, but it should not be government subsidized.

 

[JasperFrank]

Cause Iowa comes first in Primaries? Maybe? I've done tests on my car, its a 93 Festiva, 37 MPG, and isn't set up for E85. My local gas station has both available and a few years back it became okay to pump either into the car. Other wise everyone was just filling jerry cans to fill their cars later. I get 1 mile less in MPG with the E85 than the straight Gas - but it is so expensive for straight as to be not worth the difference. The E85 is eating everything in the car that was a gasket and that is costing me money to fix. Thats the cost. I can't tell the difference, unless I had kept records and found this 1 mile MPG difference. Performance is the same at least what i can tell.

 

[cqaigy2]

It will all be a moot point as we'll all be driving electric cars anyway. :stirthepot:

 

[ovrszd]

We should eliminate the subsidy for ethanol in stages, and see if it is viable without subsidies. It was a good experiment, but it should not be government subsidized.

I agree. This should apply to all alternatives.