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How much ethanol should be in gasoline?
Public comments being accepted through Monday
Published Saturday, July 18, 2009
Monday will the last day the Environmental Protection Agency will accept public comments concerning a potential switch that would result in all fuel containing 15 percent ethanol.
The EPA began accepting public comments April 21. Growth Energy submitted the request March 6, and the EPA has until December to decide.
According to a press release from Growth Energy, the change to E15 would create more than 3,000 jobs and about $590 million to boost the economy in Minnesota.
This switch would be a step to reduce the amount of imported fuel, and it would help decrease the dependence on foreign oil, said Rick Mummert, general manager of Poet Biorefining in Glenville.
“Ethanol is just another expansion to the gasoline supply. Why wouldn’t people appreciate buying from someone that is their neighbor? Where again, the dollar stays here and buys additional products locally,” he said.
All fuel in Minnesota is currently E10, meaning it contains 10 percent ethanol, but more and more fuel pumps are being installed where people can choose the amount of ethanol in their fuel.
“Ethanol actually helps to lower the price of gasoline, and what we’d like to see out there is blender pumps where the consumer has the choice to put in E10. … They can push a button and elect to go with E20. Push a button, go with E30. Push a button, go with E40. And it all would be the consumer’s decision, and allow the economics, what does their car operate best on and what is the best price,” Mummert said.
Some of these pumps are located at the Freeborn County Co-op Oil in Albert Lea and in Alden.
Fifteen million bushels of corn are converted into fuel at Poet Biorefining each year, Mummert said. He said that corn is locally produced and keeps fuel money local, rather than sending it overseas.
From a legal standpoint, vehicles can legally only go to E10 fuel, but there have been tests using fuels with higher ethanol content than E10 in vehicles. Mummert also said ethanol is a cleaner burning fuel.
State law requires that all fuel in Minnesota will be E20 by 2012. Minnesota is a state pushing for more renewable energy, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a bill in 2007 to have 25 percent of the state’s fuel be renewable by 2025. A greater use of ethanol fuels is part of that plan.
“We look for Minnesota to continue to lead the way,” Mummert said. “They’ve been very, very aggressive in leading the nation in the development of renewable fuels.”
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Comments
Posted by stitch0852 (anonymous) on July 19, 2009 at 8:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Is anyone looking at the results these higher amounts will have on fuel economy and older cars?
I fully understand the economy and keeping farmers selling ethanol crops, etc.
However, who is thinking about consumers? Cars burning ethanol-based products get lower fuel economy that those burning larger gas to ethanol ratio fuels.
The gas prices still skyrocket based on the whims of investors based on possibly perceived issues (war, hurricane, etc).
I am not convinced these spikes would be higher if fuel had no ethanol in it at all. This based on living in a state that only recently (last 3-4 years) switched to ethanol. Our fuel prices were in line with the national averages!
What about consumers who cannot afford new cars and their current cars cannot run well on the higher ethanol blends?
I have two cars, one is 10 years old, the other 23 years old. Both have one thing I find irreplaceable...they are paid for, so trading for a newer model (and undertaking a huge car payment) is not an option. Need to save my money for the rising taxes now and in the future.
Seems to me a poor performing car forced to run fuel it cannot properly combust will increase pollutants in the air.
In addition, the higher concentration of alcohol products in gas will also raise temperatures whereby the fuel is affected in the colder winter months. That, or additional costs will be incurred for additives to combat this.
WHO IS THINKING ABOUT ALL OF THIS?
Remember, ethanol fuel does not allow water to settle as 100% gasoline did. Ethanol is water soluable meaning the water remains suspended in the fuel instead of settling to the bottom (because gasoline floats on water). As a result, our severe winter temperatures will begin to cause problems with frozen gas lines, etc. Alcohol mixes with water, it does not float on it.
This appears to be another case of someone watching out for their rice bowl, regardless of issues that may arise as a result of their actions.
Posted by Culture_Warrior (anonymous) on July 19, 2009 at 12:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The shelf life of ethanol is only about 60 days. It then begins to gum up. This may not be so much of an issue with cars but small engines are very touchy about fresh gas. If you leave ethanol in your mower, snowblower, or weed eater, you will have big problems.
Posted by stitch0852 (anonymous) on July 19, 2009 at 7:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
golddigger, EXACTLY, yet there seems to be a huge push to incorporate higher percentages of this into our gas whether we like it or not, whether our cars can handle it or not, and whether it is better for the environment or not.
It is almost as if Minnesota is saying "to h#%# with the consumer and the environment (because some cars may have worse emissions if they cannot burn this properly), we want to sell more ethanol crops!
Again, I sympathize with farmers, etc; but there comes a time when EVERYONE needs to be considered!
A flip "buy another car" isn't the answer either. With record job losses, folks are not guaranteed jobs from day-to-day and cannot afford to undertake another debt that may end up resulting in repossession of needed transportation.
Posted by sandman (anonymous) on July 19, 2009 at 7:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have a Yamaha 4 stroke outboard motor on my boat. And because of ethanol it gets carboned up. I guess saving a few cents and being "green" is well worth the $1,200 to fix it every time it carbons up. So I say there should be NO ETHANOL BLENDED IN GAS!!!
Posted by lkfrancisr (anonymous) on July 19, 2009 at 9:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Beware of your government
tax dollars + corn = ethanol
They dont care, it just sounds good;
repeat bad science long enough and people believe it.
Posted by Russ (anonymous) on July 19, 2009 at 11:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It took all of the cropland in Indiana, plus an extra 5,000 square miles to replace less than 6% of our gasoline. My "neighbor" voted George Bush into office twice.
Personally, I'd like to go back to the good old days when you had a choice to buy Gasohol (a ten percent blend). You don't get a choice now. The lobbyists have found a way to blend it into your gas and make you pay for it whether you want to or not.
If energy independence keeps you up at night, drive a car that improves gas mileage 100% over the American average like I do.
Ethanol does not create jobs and it does not save us money. It funnels money from blue states to red states.
Posted by toby (anonymous) on July 20, 2009 at 9:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Consider the amount of water that is used in ethanol production. It gets pumped out of the ground and then flushed down the ditch. Sure they pay someone for that water and that money becomes lost in bureaucracy and so is the water. If the ethanol industry could stand on it's own feet with out subsidies and tax loopholes it would be one thing but it is not. I say none because of that.
Posted by fuelguru (anonymous) on July 21, 2009 at 7:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is interesting how everyone is an expert when it comes to fuel and vehicle performance, especially when they are selling the stuff. For the record, in my humble opinion, there is only ONE global expert on the subject of vehicles and fuels as a system. That person is former director of GM's fuel R&D for many years - Joe Colucci.
Joe's latest words on raising the blending limit to 15% > is - the ethanol industry lobby and our politicians need to be ready to deal with the very real possibility this politically motivated decision could result in mass vehicle failures, and the public outrage associated multi thousand dollar repair charges. Small engine suppliers are thrilled with ethanol-it is highly corrosive it destroys small engines that are not equipped with knock sensors. This happens when the octane enhancing ethanol component separates from the gasoline. This condition is known as octane segregation-most ‘experts’ have not even heard of the issue.
Letting the customer choose what ratio of ethanol they want to use in their non-flex fuel vehicle has to be one of the most absurd ideas that has been mentioned since Americans have been brainwashed with the "Think Green, Go Yellow" propaganda. Being a freedom loving American like myself, I am sure that Mr. Mummert would agree that Americans should also have the freedom to choose E0 (zero ethanol) gasoline if they want to! Thank you very much.
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