It’s time to admit that ethanol in gasoline has failed to fulfill its promises (except to farmers)

If you’ve pumped gas at a U.S. service station over the past decade, you’ve put biofuel in your tank. Thanks to the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, almost all gasoline sold nationwide is required to contain 10% ethanol – a fuel made from plant sources, mainly corn.

With the recent rise in pump prices, biofuel lobbies are pressing to boost that target to 15% or more. At the same time, some policymakers are calling for reforms. For example, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill that would eliminate the corn ethanol portion of the mandate.

Enacted in the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the RFS promised to enhance energy security, cut carbon dioxide emissions and boost income for rural America. The program has certainly raised profits for portions of the agricultural industry, but in my view it has failed to fulfill its other promises. Indeed, studies by some scientists, including me, find that biofuel use has increased rather than decreased CO2 emissions to date.

Current law sets a target of producing and using 36 billion gallons of biofuels by 2022 as part of the roughly 200 billion gallons of motor fuel that U.S. motor vehicles burn each year. As of 2019, drivers were using only 20 billion gallons of renewable fuels yearly – mainly corn ethanol and soybean biodiesel. Usage declined in 2020 because of the pandemic, as did most energy use. Although the 2021 tally is not yet complete, the program remains far from its 36 billion-gallon goal.

Higher profits for many farmers
The RFS’s clearest success has been boosting income for corn and soybean farmers and related agricultural firms. It also has built up a sizable domestic biofuel industry.

The Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group for the biofuels industry, estimates that the RFS has generated over 300,000 jobs in recent years. Two-thirds of these jobs are in the top ethanol-producing states: Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and South Dakota. Given Iowa’s key role in presidential primaries, most politicians with national ambitions find it prudent to embrace biofuels.

The RFS displaces a modest amount of petroleum, shifting some income away from the oil industry and into agribusiness. Nevertheless, biofuels’ contribution to U.S. energy security pales compared with gains from expanded domestic oil production through hydraulic fracturing – which of course brings its own severe environmental damages. And using ethanol in fuel poses other risks, including damage to small engines and higher emissions from fuel fumes.

For consumers, biofuel use has had a varying, but overall small, effect on pump prices. Renewable fuel policy has little leverage in the world oil market, where the biofuel mandate’s penny-level effects are no match for oil’s dollar-scale volatility.

https://www.marketwatch.com/st...-farmers-11638463480

This was always driven by political concerns, not science.

Got to talk to that Iowa senator Gasly … Tell him to quit farming food to turn into fuel.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
This was always driven by political concerns, not science.

And the Nebraska corn lobby.

quote:

.....At the same time, some policymakers are calling for reforms. For example, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill that would eliminate the corn ethanol portion of the mandate...

I applaud those senators, do you know who they are? We should start a Email or letter writing campaign in support. If we're going to subsidize corn let's make it on corn flakes, bourbon, and taco shells, not ethanol.

Can I still use it to boost octane in my racecar?

That ok with you guys?

Greta doesn't like it.

quote:

Originally posted by DoctorSolo:
Can I still use it to boost octane in my racecar?

That ok with you guys?

That's an appropriate use for the stuff, heck run straight alcohol for all we care. Just don't add more than a couple % to our gasoline.

quote:

Originally posted by DoctorSolo:
Can I still use it to boost octane in my racecar?

That ok with you guys?

Greta doesn't like it.

Do you use ethanol? Over methanol?

quote:

Originally posted by DoctorSolo:
Can I still use it to boost octane in my racecar?

That ok with you guys?

Greta doesn't like it.

Same here. I was always against it until I found out it's benefits at lessening knock. Allows you to advance timing more.

For everyday use I can't imagine it has any benefits to the environment and if we readopt the policies that had us at energy independence than there's no benefit at all.

From research grants at universities to ethanol plants, there's a lot of money behind ethanol.

Last I heard, roughly 40% of the corn grown is used for ethanol, another 40% feeds livestock, and about 20% is used for food products like high fructose corn syrup.

It has probably done a lot to increase the price of food everywhere as well.

In the small amount used, it helps boost octane numbers a bit, but at a loss of near equal % in power produced. So, less mileage. (My truck is a Flex Fuel) and running non-ethonol, I get about 20-21MPG highway, and about 15-17MPG on E10

In race applications E85 and above, the power gains are more significant due to richening oxygen levels while permitting much greater compression, cooling effect in the fuel/air mix and greater density (more fuel with oxygenated benefit), so the power generated is a result of "moving the chemistry and physics around" to get there. (it's complex, but it works), but that benefit is generally lost to normal daily driven vehicles (the performance tunes are tighter and need some watching/tweaking to deal with all the changing variables).

"Racing Alchohol(s)" will always be available, even if the corn cars on the road go away, but that will not happen overnight.

But politics can screw up anything, not even an anvil is safe.

Since the introduction of the O2 sensor (1981) it has been a ruse and just a way to water down real gasoline.

The coyote 5.0 V8 in my truck runs like a raped ape on E85. It’s definitely noticeable, as is the decreased fuel mileage.

quote:

Originally posted by Wayniac:
The coyote 5.0 V8 in my truck runs like a raped ape on E85. It’s definitely noticeable, as is the decreased fuel mileage.

That's because alcohol in vaporized form has a higher density than gasoline. What you've done is increase the compression of your motor. So, more power. But, as the wise monkey has stated above, the trade-off to get that density is more fuel per cycle. So, less mileage.

...and it's murder on carbureted engines like the generator in a motor home. I avoid it like the plague but it's nearly impossible.

I used to drive to the next county to buy ethanol free gas. Luckily our local Harris Teeter just built a new gas station with dedicated 90 octane ethanol free gas pump.

My motorcycles are all fed a 100% diet of only real gas. I will NEVER put that shit in my old bikes that have four carburetors and fuel lines never meant to handle that awful corn fuel.

It sucks that I have to pay extra to get what I consider to be normal gasoline. But when I consider what our friends overseas are paying for gasoline it softens the sting a bit. I remind myself that my motos all achieve hybrid car rivaling mpgs.

It’s past time, it should have never happened. It cost the same but lower mpg for me by 3mpg. That’s huge in my truck that gets bad mileage anyway.

Google phase separation and the DOE and EPA even state the loss of mpg on their websites.

quote:

Originally posted by DoctorSolo:
Can I still use it to boost octane in my racecar?

That ok with you guys?

Greta doesn't like it.

Just convert the car over to E85, everything out there says it's the best option.

My truck isn't equipped to run E85 but the same engine that is, will reportedly make up to 40hp more when using it. Of course it comes at the cost of lower mpg.