Since the gas station nearest to my water well is 5 miles away, they should bring back MTBE, which is what they used here before ethanol. (Reason they stopped using MTBE is groundwater contamination. Some states actually banned it, but it isn’t banned at the Federal level. Since the Feds wouldn’t grant the oil companies immunity from lawsuits over MTBE groundwater contamination, the oil companies stopped using it.)
Both MTBE and ethanol are used as octane enhancers and also make the gasoline meet the EPA requirement for oxygenated gasoline.
And usage of MTBE or ethanol actually reduces the cost of gasoline, because they’re able to take “BOB” (before oxygenate blending) gas which has an octane rating of about 85, blend in 10% ethanol (or MTBE, in years past) and that brings the octane up to 87.
The other octane booster that was used is TEL (lead) and that can no longer be used because it turns people into retards, among other things.
I’m well aware of ethanol’s use as an octane enhancer. It is a “cheap” way to raise octane. I understand all that.
I can buy 90 octane ethanol free gas, it’s just hard to come by, although it is the same or only a little more than 93 ethanol premium.
You like ethanol, fine. I don’t. I admit the reality of ethanol not going away, but I am not required to like it.