Posted on 05/01/2008 2:05:29 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Conventional gas delivers more energy than a gallon that contains ethanol, says the Kansas City Star.
For instance:
A gallon of ethanol has 76,000 British thermal units while conventional gasoline has 115,000 Btu. A blended gallon of gas that contains 10 percent ethanol gets 111,100 Btu.
That amounts to a 3.4 percent reduction in energy, which over the course of a year of normal driving would take an additional 40 gallons of E-10 to go the same distance as conventional gas.
If it's E-85, a blend containing 85 percent ethanol that can be used in specially equipped vehicles, the energy loss soars and more than offsets its lower cost, even though E-85 is about 60 cents per gallon less at retail than conventional gas:
Mileage can suffer by about 25 percent with E-85, according to AAA.
Over the course of a year, that amounts to an extra 300 gallons of E-85 to go the same distance as when using conventional gas.
That means an average household, when the total cost of conventional gas and E-85 are compared, would spend nearly $100 more per year for E-85.
To those that have the flex-fuel vehicles that can use the fuel, it's tempting to purchase E-85 because at first glance it appears to be a great deal compared with conventional gasoline. But at least for now, it isn't, says the Star.
For example:
AAA now calculates a price for E-85 to adjust for its energy content.
The national average pump price for the fuel on April 24 was $2.91 per gallon; regular gasoline was $3.56. But adjusted for its energy content, the price for E-85 jumps to $3.83, or 27 cents more than regular.
Source: Steve Everly, "Loss of fuel economy from ethanol-blended gasoline hits motorists in the wallet," The Kansas City Star, April 26, 2008.
For text:
http://www.kansascity.com/105/v-print/story/593644.html
For more on Gasoline and Petroleum:
http://eteam.ncpa.org/issues/?c=gasoline-and-petroleum
For more on Energy Issues:
http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=22
OBSE!
That’s the name of the man driving the car in the above picture ... or so I’ve heard.
It's not about the money.
It's about the planet - think of the warm fuzzy feelings you get when you're rolling down the road on renewable energy - starving today's children, instead of yesterday's dinosaurs.
No Shet, Shirlock.
4 stroke outboard engines hate ethanol...
But how many Congressmen or Senators ever took a course in thermodynamics or physical chemistry?
In automobile gasoline it is BAD, but in plastics made from sugar cane > ethanol > polyurethane = it is GOOD stuff! No one needs to eat sugar cane and this will NOT be used in cars!
Dow and Crystalsev Announce Plans to Make Polyethylene from Sugar Cane in Brazil
Renewable Resource Used in Production Process Will Significantly Reduce Carbon Footprint
São Paulo, Brazil - July 19, 2007
The Dow Chemical Company, the world’s largest producer of polyethylene, and Crystalsev, one of Brazil’s largest ethanol players have announced plans for a world-scale facility to manufacture polyethylene from sugar cane.
Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding agreed by the two companies, Dow and Crystalsev will form a joint venture in Brazil to design and build the first integrated facility of its scale in the world. It is expected to start production in 2011 and will have a capacity of 350,000 metric tons. The venture will combine Dow’s leading position in polyethylene with Crystalsev’s know-how and experience in ethanol to meet the needs of Dow’s customers in Brazil and what will likely be international interest.
“We are excited to partner with a great company like Crystalsev to build the first world-scale polyethylene facility that will use a renewable feedstock,” said Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of Dow. “This project is a prime example of how Dow’s innovation and industry leadership are creating outstanding opportunities to drive forward our strategic growth agenda in a way that fully supports our 2015 Sustainability Goals commitments.”
The new facility will use ethanol derived from sugar cane, an annually renewable resource, to produce ethylene - the raw material required to make polyethylene, the world’s most widely-used plastic. Ethylene is traditionally produced using either naphtha or natural gas liquids, both of which are petroleum products. It is estimated that the new process will produce significantly less CO2 compared to the traditional polyethylene manufacturing process.
“This joint venture will provide Crystalsev with an excellent opportunity to diversify its businesses through the development of value-added products made from ethanol as part of an environmentally sustainable project,” said Rui Lacerda Ferraz, president of Crystalsev. “This project will bring the optimization of synergies and the creation of new and professional growth opportunities. For such an important enterprise, we could not have found a better partner than Dow, the global leader in the polyethylene market and a company that works with state-of-the-art technology.”
The companies have already begun conducting a feasibility study to assess various aspects of the project, including engineering design, location, infrastructure needs, supply chain logistics, energy and economics. The study, which is expected to take one year, will also look at the possibility of receiving approval for the project and the process as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The CDM was developed by the United Nations to help companies manage their carbon credits from emerging market projects.
The areas being considered as potential sites for the new facility are currently being used for low-density cattle grazing and are not near any rain forests. Both companies have underscored their commitment to ensuring that the plant is located in a sustainable environment.
The new facility will use Dow’s proprietary Solution technology to manufacture DOWLEXT polyethylene resins - the world’s leading linear low density polyethylene, which combines toughness and puncture resistance with high performance and processability. The material offers significant advantages in a range of different applications, including pipes, films, membranes, and food and specialty packaging.
At a molecular level, the joint venture’s product will be identical to the DOWLEXT polyethylene resins manufactured at other Dow facilities. The advantage of this material versus most renewable resource-based plastics is that customers will be using a drop-in replacement made with a renewable resource not a different polymer altogether. Also, like the traditional PE product, the sugar cane-based polyethylene would be fully recyclable using existing infrastructure.
Polyethylene is the most widely used of all plastics and can be found in all manner of everyday products, from food packaging, milk jugs and plastic containers to pipes and liners.
About Dow
Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of innovation, science and technology to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company offers a broad range of products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $49 billion and employs 43,000 people worldwide. References to “Dow” or the “Company” mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
Dow has operated in Brazil since 1956 when it established a Latin America headquarters in São Paulo. As Dow has expanded, so has its presence in Brazil with 21 locations, including manufacturing plants, business centers and research and development facilities. Dow has 2,100 employees in Brazil.
About Crystalsev
Crystalsev is a 100% Brazilian group that commercializes products made from sugar cane through three areas: providing of services to mills; commercialization of sugar and alcohol; and trading - purchase, resale and management of assets. The Group produces 1.8 million tons of sugar, which corresponds to 8% of all sugar manufactured in Brazil, and employs 30,000 people. Crystalsev operates in several regions in the country through 13 companies that, together, form the second major producer of sugar cane in Brazil. Its management system is used as a model in the sugar & alcohol industry. For additional information about Crystalsev, please visit www.crystalsev.com.br.
For Editorial Information:
Chris Huntley
The Dow Chemical Company
989-636-2876
David Winder
The Dow Chemical Company
989-638-0745
Adriana Toledo/Rafael Presilli
Ketchum Estratégia Assessoria de Comunicação
55-11-5096-4334 ext.212/280
They were saying on the radio, and I DO NOT know anything about this, that it would be better to put acetane in the gas tank — than Ethanol-alcohol
When I use the 10% ethanol type gasoline, I lose at least 10% of my fuel economy.
Therefore I’m burning the same amount of gasoline to go to work AND 10% additional ethanol.
It does not conform to any IUPAC nomenclature that I am aware of.
Do you mean acetone?
How many Congressmen or Senators have cracked a book in the last decade?
We were just talking about this today. My friend fills up his car with gas and can get to work and home six days on one tank of gas.
He started using ethanol blend and finds he has to fill up after five days.
He swithched back to gasoline and gets six days of driving on one tank again.
Except for supporting the ragheads.
The author of the article talks as though the new ethanol-gasoline mixture was ever meant to be efficient. The envirowhackos pushing this crock could care less about how efficient it is. They just like it because it’s supposedly good for the environtment (I’m taking the “it’s an environmentally safe miracle fuel” with a very, very big grain of salt.)
But soon, there shall no longer the the option of filling with gasoline instead of ethanol.
You get ethanol, whether you want it or not, no matter if it dissolves every seal and gasket aling the entire fuel line, and gums up the fuel injector needles on your high-tech automobile, necessitating an extensive and expensive clean-out and repair of your entire fuel system.
But hey, you may feel all warm and fuzzy while you hand over a great deal of money for the opportunity.
Optimal Blend” Is Likely E20 or E30; Coalition Calls for Further Government Research
SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Research findings released today show that mid-range ethanol blends—fuel mixtures with more ethanol than E10 but less than E85—can in some cases provide better fuel economy than regular unleaded gasoline, even in standard, non-flex-fuel vehicles.
Study Finds Certain Ethanol Blends Can Provide Better Fuel Economy Than Gasoline - Auto News from December 05, 2007
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 strongly 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 new study, cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), also found that mid-range ethanol blends reduce harmful tailpipe emissions.
http://www.motortrend.com/features/newswire/91/33057/
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