Agriculture secretary wants more ethanol in gas

pMSNBC ^ | 3/9/2009 | AP via pMSNBC

[AT7Saluki]

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the government should move quickly to increase the amount of ethanol allowed in gasoline.

Ethanol producers asked the Environmental Protection Agency last week to increase the amount of ethanol that refiners can blend with gasoline from a maximum of 10 percent to 15 percent, which could boost the demand for the renewable fuel additive by as much as 6 billion gallons a year. However, automobile and small engine manufacturers have said there's no certainty yet that such an increase will not harm engines and fuel lines.

[Myrddin]

MTBE also turned out to be a serious water pollutant. When used in outboard engines, it left a film of MTBE in the water. It's nearly impossible to remove. I've showered in MTBE contaminated water while on a business trip in Denver. It makes a hot, steamy shower smell like turpentine. Yuck.

Summer is coming. The ethanol will be pulled soon.

[Myrddin]

Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Montana typically sell 85/87/89. I have to seek out a Sinclair station to get better octane levels. The top end is 93 at Sinclair. My 914 requires 92. The high compression engine in my wife's Piaggio BV500 requires 92 as well.

I do have two motorcycles that will run 85 octane. The Yamaha TW200 and XT250 handle it just fine. They are low compression thumpers. They are street licensed, but are light enough to maneuver the tightest single track trails in the local mountains.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The equivalent price for nat gas should be around $1.50 w/o road use taxes... Sounds better than 40 miles for a plug in Volt, no ?

[Sequoyah101]

What about butanol?

[NVDave]

That would be a highly preferred outcome over ethanol. You’d lose the higher octane of ethanol, but you’re getting rid of the hygroscopic issues of ethanol, the pipeline corrosion issues, etc.

[Sequoyah101]

It is a big advantage. Ethanol is just the wrong fuel IMHO.

Frankly, I think we should gravitate toward a totally fuel oil based transportation fuel based system and rid ourselves of gasoline all together.