Posted on 09/12/2010 10:21:59 AM PDT by WOBBLY BOB
Back in 2004, both a network TV crew and eager motorists were on hand when an E-85 pump opened for business at a busy SuperAmerica station in St. Paul.
The excitement didn't last. Today, that pump at the station on Grand Avenue sells only unleaded gasoline, not the 85-percent ethanol blend once touted as leading a revolution in biofuels.
That single St. Paul pump mirrors the struggles E-85 has had penetrating the consumer market across the state, especially in urban areas. The volume of E-85 sales has fallen about 25 percent from its 2008 peak, Minnesota statistics show. And the number of Minnesota gas stations with E-85 pumps has begun to decline, reversing years of slow but steady growth.
The reversal is especially noteworthy here, because Minnesota has been the nation's undisputed leader in E-85's promotion, support and availability. In a state that lacks fossil fuels, E-85 had been heralded as a homegrown alternative that Gov. Tim Pawlenty once called 'one of the most important issues and economic tools for all of Greater Minnesota.'
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
Well, it’s hardly energy-positive if at all, can actually cost more to use than gasoline...it needs to be transported and used quickly because it’s hygroscopic and goes bad...what’s not to like?
I’m really worried that ADM is going to...uhhh...”convince” the government into mandating its use in all gasolines. It’s crap.
The great Ethanol boondoggle, useless for so many reasons.......
Corn is FOOD not Fuel
it needs to be transported and used quickly because it’s hygroscopic and goes bad
I used it for a while in my flexfuel Ranger, but it caused problems with moisture in the gas tank, especially in the cooler months. It did seem to have a little more zip though.
They don't consider a stalled economy to be a problem, either.
He11, just the 10% mix plays havoc with my new little 9.9hp....even though I use hi-test and a stabilizer. I can't imagine what an 85% mix would do.
They just cram it down our throats and tell us it’s “green”.
They also pee on our leg and tell us it’s rain.
Pawlenty signs bill increasing ethanol content in gasoline
by Laura McCallum, Minnesota Public Radio
May 10, 2005
Minnesota is the first state with a law MANDATING 20-percent ethanol use by the year 2013.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/05/10_ap_ethanol/
Guffaw.
That milquetoast sporting a hiphop handle has to be one of the more comical miscues of recent political theater.
Ethanol is crap science. Cease ALL subsidies for ALL fuels and let it fail or succeed on its own merits. We don’t have an oil shortage (except for phony restrictions causing phony shortages) be we do have a problem with food. Let farmers make food, not fuel.
“I used it for a while in my flexfuel Ranger, but it caused problems with moisture in the gas tank, especially in the cooler months. It did seem to have a little more zip though.”
Higher volatility than gasoline but less overall BTU when compared to gasoline thus requiring more to accomplish the same amount of work.
“Pawlenty signs bill increasing ethanol content in gasoline
by Laura McCallum, Minnesota Public Radio
May 10, 2005
Minnesota is the first state with a law MANDATING 20-percent ethanol use by the year 2013.”
Well that’s incredibly stupid. Relatively few engines today are designed to run on anything more than 10% ethanol mixed with gasoline.
Could just as well apply to any technology the government feels the need to meddle in.
Some of the distributors around here have stopped blending any ethanol at all even though the state law requires 2-10%. I’m glad to be finding straight gasoline again!
hey i think if they paint that pump some other color than PURPLE
and then
take that decal off the front of it
..you know, ‘the one with the SMILEY FACE ON A DRIPPING PITCHER..........
i think they’d at least FOOL at least some some FOOLS.....
BUT ....as is this idear aint got a snowball’s chance in KUwait....
i yield the balance of my time..
Nice try by the corporate ag lobby, though.....
I tried it once on a cross country trip. It cost about the same, caused my truck to lose power, and reduced fuel mileage by a considerable amount.
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