Tigermike 3,046 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Ethanol Blended Fuel Hurts Gas MileageReported by: Brian Heap Email: bheap@myeyewitnessnews.com Last Update: 6/23 6:25 pm Memphis, TN -- Eyewitness News Everywhere Uncovers drivers losing valuable miles on a tank of gas because of ethanol blended fuel. You may have noticed a sign at the pump telling you the gas contains up to 10% ethanol, which is an alcohol and biofuel made from corn. Supporters of ethanol use say it's a cheaper, cleaner burning fuel. They claim the 10% blend has virtually no impact on fuel efficiency, but some mechanics disagree. "It's about 4-5% based on the numbers," says Mark Block, owner of Block Automotive in Cordova. Block says it's simple science. He says a car must burn more ethanol to create the same energy as gasoline. So if you remove 10% pure gasoline and replace it with ethanol, the fuel won't burn the same. According to Block's numbers, the driver of a vehicle that gets 20 miles per gallon would see his fuel efficiency drop to 19 miles per gallon on average. Block says most gas stations are now selling the ethanol blended fuel because prices have gotten so high. He recommends drivers use 100% gasoline if they can find it. link Video "Supporters of ethanol use say it’s a cheaper, cleaner burning fuel. They claim the 10% blend has virtually no impact on fuel efficiency, but some mechanics disagree. “It’s about 4-5% based on the numbers,†says Mark Block, owner of Block Automotive in Cordova. Block says it’s simple science. He says a car must burn more ethanol to create the same energy as gasoline. So if you remove 10% pure gasoline and replace it with ethanol, the fuel won’t burn the same." It’s not quite as simple as WPTY puts it, but it’s close. Ethanol contains about two-thirds of the potential energy of gasoline, which means one has to use about 50% more to get the same power as gas. Blending more ethanol into gasoline makes it less efficient, which means cars have to burn more of the blend than with straight gas to drive the same distance under the same conditions. This doesn’t account for the varying efficiencies of ethanol varieties, either. Corn ethanol only produces a 2:1 ratio of potential energy to energy required to produce it, and transportation is much less efficient than with gasoline. Subsidies for farmers and rising food prices make corn ethanol more costly than ever. Cane-sugar ethanol can be grown cheaply and has an 8:1 return on production energy, but the US puts trade tariffs on cane-sugar ethanol while subsidizing corn farmers. Democrats like Barack Obama like to say we can’t drill our way out of an energy crisis, but we certainly can do that, especially in the short term. What the rapid increase in food prices shows us, based on corn shortages, is that we cannot grow our way out of the energy crisis. We need realistic alternatives, not expensive and inefficient replacements that we can’t produce in amounts anywhere near impact levels. Anyone who says differently has their own power shortage. link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwagoner 214 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I'm not mechanic, but I can tell it decreases the mpg on my car. I go from 34mpg to as low as 30 with the the ethanol mix. The funny thing is, I can pay the same price across the road and get better fuel economy. Further more, it raises the price of everything corn based. You'll be amazed how much stuff comes from corn or its byproducts. I think it will drive the cost of other crops us too b/c farmers will grow more corn and less "x" as they are certain corn will sell. This lowers the supply of the others and raises our prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUAV66 0 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Already happening KW, wheat crops have been deminished to grow more corn in their place because it is more profitable for the farmers with the demand for ethanol. Just wait until the effects of the flooding in the midwest start to show in the corn market. This is the problem with using a major food source for energy production. Poor crops and production of diesel from peanuts has caused a 300% increase in the cost of peanut oil over the past four years. There is already a sharp increase in the cost of meal and flour over the last year due to the shift of crops from wheat to corn and the sales of corn for fuel. Oh yeah, virtually every meat item we consume is raised on feed containing corn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigeremt 6,660 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 This is another reason why Obama is supporting CORN! If it's not BIG OIL, it's BIG CORN! Typical Politician. NO CHANGE, NO HOPE..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermike 3,046 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 This is another reason why Obama is supporting CORN! If it's not BIG OIL, it's BIG CORN! Typical Politician. NO CHANGE, NO HOPE..... Don't they grow a lot of CORN in Illinois and Indiana? I wonder if he is invested as deeply in ethanol as Algore is in other green industries? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.