WHat is ethanol supposed to do for gas??

Question

I went to get gas last night where I usually buy it from.. and a sign said Warning.. may contain 10% ethanol.

WHy does ethanol need to be put into gas (i've heard a little about it before)?? alcohols evaporate very fast. whats the need for it to be mixed in with gas??

Answer 1

Helps the fuel burn cleaner so emits less pollution.

Answer 2

There's 2 primary reasons ethanol is in gasoline.  First, the federal government has oxygenate requirements that basically say, since gasoline doesn't have enough oxygen to burn cleanly on its own, you must add something that adds oxygen for cleaner combustion.  Currently, that something is ethanol.  Until 2006, retatilers were allowed to add MTBE, but regulations stopped its usage in 2006.

Second, ethanol increases the octane rating of gasoline, because it burns slower.  This is an added benefit, since MTBE didn't increase octane rating.  

You don't have to worry abut evaporation, since your tank is a closed system and doesn't allow much evaporation to occur.

As for the reason you need oxygenate, the EPA looked at areas of the country and decided smog and pollutants related to auto exhaust were really bad in certain regions, so the Clean Air Act designated certain zones as PADD districts which require RFG, or reformulated gasoline, which requires the oxygenate.

EDIT:  Methanol was an early ozygenate substitute and it was discontinued because of the aforementioned rubber issue.  Ethanol is not an issue for fuel line parts.  Filters remove water from gasoline before it is pumped into your car.  Buy you gasoline from a name brand station and you won't get water issues, because they are required to do regular maintenance on filters.

Answer 3

Any kind of alcohol,ethanol included will absorb water which is a good thing in your gas tank. It and the the water will burn in the engine. It also will raise the octane rating of your gas. Last I heard USA is importing 21 million barrels of oil each day so doing anything to reduce these imports is good for our national security and economic well being.

The downside is that ethanol will degrade some kinds of rubber like in fuel systems. That is usually in older vehicles since the car makers have been using rubber parts in the fuel system that is not affected by alcohol.

Also, burning alcohol causes food prices to go up since in USA, ethanol is made from corn which is used to produce a variety of food items and feed the animals which are used for food.

There are large areas in southern USA where cane was grown years ago but not now. The cane would be a better choice to make ethanol. That is the way it is done in Brazil.

Answer 4

Ethanol does not need to be put into gas. Ethanol is a bad attempt at replacing gasoline. It produces fewer BTUs per gallon resulting in lower fuel mileage. It drives the price of corn higher resulting in higher food prices. The only states where the ethanol blend is cheaper than regular gas is Iowa and Nebraska where ethanol is heavily subsidized by the state.

I'm not sure how you have only heard a little about ethanol. It has been talked about for over 30 years (starting with gasohol in the 1970's)