What do you think of fuel that contains 10% ethanol?

Question

It is sold at walmart, kroger, and sams club and it claims to be "enriched" by ethanol - it is slightly cheaper as well.

Answer 1

Ethanol is carbon neutral, meaning that it sucks up as much CO2 as it puts out.

So that's one advantage if you believe in global warming. (I don't.)

Ethanol puts out ozone when burnt. Ozone is harmful and poisonous when it is at ground level. When ozone is up in the stratosphere, it saves us from UV radiation.

So that's a downside.

It's more expensive.

Another downside.

It has less energy per gallon, meaning that you actually get less mileage.

Yet another downside.

In my city, it is a law that all gasoline has to have a minimum of 10% ethanol.

George Bush is trying to get all of our gasoline made with 20% ethanol in conjunction with more drilling in America to get America off oil.

Ethanol made from corn is a very bad idea. Ethanol is made from sugars. To make it from corn, which has little sugar takes a whole lot of corn. If you make it from sugar cane, it is much, much, much cheaper. In Brazil they have a 50/50 mix of gasoline and sugar cane ethanol for 10 cents a gallon!!!

Answer 2

well the thing about ethanol enriched fuel is that ethanol has less btu's than gasoline which means u need more ethanol to get the same performance as less gasoline. so while it is cheaper because of the ethanol , you end up spending more money in the long run. its better just to use straight up gasoline rather than ethanol enriched fuel. it ends up being worse for the enviroment in the long run as well cause burning ethanol still releases greenhouse gasses , and i dont even believe in global warming.

Answer 3

its all i put in my car...i live in iowa,,its good for the environment, my car, and my state.

Answer 4

It can be used for new car models, but will create problems for older cars.  From http://altenergy.in/biofuel.html

Answer 5

It's pretty much in all gasoline now.  It works fine in my car.

Answer 6

We don't want to get less gas mileage, we want more gas mileage.Actually, if you buy gas with ethanol you need more gas to get what you get from straight gas, so its no savings at all.  Also, what is it doing to my car?  It is a start with a solution to our burning up our fossil fuels, but its just not enough.

Answer 7

takes more fuel to produce than  given back. people in mexico starve no corn to eat

Answer 8

I'm against anything that causes world hunger, such as special interests stealing crops, to pollute our atmosphere!

Answer 9

nother government con -- follow the money -- who makes this stuff and why did they get it passed -- ARIG business is behind the deal and guess who owns most of the mega farms

Answer 10

I've been using it for years as far back as the early 90's. Ones have told me not to but I've not had a problem. My vehicles gas lines have never froze up since I've been using it and we have cold extremes in winter.

Answer 11

You get somewhat lower gas mileage too...

The alcohol acts as an accelerant to the gasoline combustion, making it burn more completely in the cylinders.. (good)

Alcohol contains appx 50% as much energy per cubic centimeter as gasoline... so you are losing about 5% energy density in your fuel.

If the engine is specificly tuned for the 10% ethanol mix... the fuel mileage issue is not as bad.  and you may only lose 1 or 2 mpg.

You WILL produce more CO2 and less CO.  CO is worse for the environment than CO2...

10% alcohol in the gas also makes the car more resistant to fuel line freezing in winter...  the typical stuff you pour in the tank to deal with fuel line freezing is... ethanol. (or some other alcohol...)

In the long run... it will cost you about the same for fuel per mile you drive.

Answer 12

You only save 5%-10% of the cost of traditional fuel, yet your mileage is 20% worse.  So where is the benefit.

It takes more BTU's to create Methanol than Methanol is capable of releasing, so there is another negative impact of methanol use.  It also absorbs water like mad, so don't allow your car to sit for long periods without using it.

No one knows the long term effects, but I can tell you from the racing world alone, if everyone in a city such as LA or NY burned methanol, your eyes would water and you wouldn't be able to breath.  The fumes are REALLY nasty!

Methanol/Ethanol is nothing more than another welfare program to the farmers.  It will only increase the cost of everything from frozen corn to milk because if the high premium it will place on corn and other grain products.

Answer 13

I guess I view what I understand was the one study indicating that bio ethanol from grain consumed more energy in production than it contained with a degree of scepticism in the light of other studies which don't.  When there are surpluses of grain or grain unsuitable for human or animal consumption why not use them for ethanol production?  Personally I would go for it if my car was suitable and give the market time to establish itself and develop so that it is there when needed when the price of petro fuel really goes up due to diminishing supplies.  I run a diesel and would like to be able to get a 5% bio diesel blend here in the UK but it is unavailable where I live.

Answer 14

With each vehicle I purchase I have run the vehicle through 3 full tanks of each type of common fuel at the pump to find which type i get the most benefit from. The 87 octane regular, the 89 octane 10% ethanol, and the 91 octane regular.  Each time I recieved the best average fuel milage from the Ethanol.  My recent vehicles have been a Jeep Cherokee ( 20 mpg), Ford Mustang (27mpg), Suzuki motorcycle (54 mpg), and Cheverolet Silverado.(18 mpg)  You might recieve different results but ethanol has worked for me.  

The ethanol also stimulates the farming economy, is better for the enviroment, and reduces our dependancy on foreign oil.

The claim that ethanol reduces the amount of corn available for food is unfounded.  There are many types of corn grown by farmers and the type used for ethanol is not the same used for food production.  Food corn is typically not grown in the same areas that feed corn is grown and FEED corn is the type of corn that is being used for ethanol.  

Another benefit is that after the ethanol is produced the waste corn and water left over from the process can be used as protein for livestock.  Which is nice because it's like giving your livestock an energy drink or adding extra content to their normal feed.

Answer 15

it isgood for save the natural sources and safe for ur car

Answer 16

not sure what to think about ethanol. i thought it was a good thing, but i'm getting ready to read an article in the new rolling stone that says it's evil...

why can't people make up their minds already?!

i wouldn't buy gas at walmart if you paid me, though...