Why is E85 fuel more expensive than regular unleaded gas?

Question

For example E85 is 3.62 where as unleaded with 10% ethanol is 3.50. E85 use to be cheaper than unleaded (with 10% ethanol) a few months ago by around 50 cents.

Answer 1

Hi,

it's not more expensive to immediately purchase at the pump, but I don't think that's what you meant.

Corn-based ethanol is more expensive to produce for several reasons.

The federal government gives subsidies to farmers to produce the corn to convert to ethanol. Tax money from your pocket.

The federal government gives incentives to companies to manufacture the equipment to convert corn into ethanol. Tax money again.

The corn must then be shipped to a plant to convert the corn into ethanol. Fuel used and added shipping cost there.

The federal government then gives incentives to the companies that are doing to the actual conversion of corn into ethanol. More tax money.

This converted grain alcohol must then be added to gasoline and ethanol plants are not combined with oil refineries. More shipping costs and fuel used there.

The multiple ethanol blends (E10, E15, E85, etc.) must then be shipped to gas stations for use. More fuel and shipping there.

Conservative estimates by the federal government (take a look at the DOE and EPA websites) state it takes between 1.26-1.29 gallons of straight fuel to produce and distribute 1.0 gallons of corn ethanol.

That difference is made up by tax money.

Yes, it takes fuel to make fuel, but there is a point of negative return where it's not helping to lessen "our dependence on foreign oil" as much as it's a boondoggle to provide subsidies and incentives and let politicians say they have done something when it is a worse situation than when we started.

BTW, ethanol and methanol and other types of fuel alcohol can be made from plant stalks and waste (corn stalks), various grasses and whole plants (switch grass), and other sources (algae) and these sources use plant matter we already have in abundance or could produce and use much easier, cheaper, and that could put a real dent in our oil use without adding to the problem.

A great example of how corn ethanol is costing us in money and more is the rising cost of grain because of the diversion of corn to ethanol production.

Look on food ingredient labels and see how much corn products and high fructose corn syrup is in food consumed by Americans.

It doesn't just come from thin air. And using so much corn in such a wasteful way is only going to make things worse in the future.

Answer 2

What are you paying for when you buy a gallon of E85?  Well you are paying for 1/2 bushel of corn seed!  You are paying for costs of refining corn into ethanol.  And you are paying for costs of transporting it to your filling station.

It isn't cheap...  Just try buying a few ears of corn from your grocer.

Answer 3

Because corn is up 325%.  Also it takes more fossil fuel to make ethanol than it contains. I will word that better.  1 gallon of ethanol contains 76,000 BTU(energy) to make 1 gallon of ethanol, it requires 98,000 BTU.

http://www.slate.com/id/2122961/

Which is even dumber is that ethanol has 35% less energy than gasoline.  When mixed with 15% gas it now has 29% less energy.  So your fuel mileage decreases by 29%

Oh this is even better.  Ethanol is subsides by a $1.38 a gallon(www.cato.org)  costing tax payers nearly 50 Billion a year.

Answer 4

Corn is worth more than gas now...

Answer 5

Because they can do it.Same with biodiesel higher,when you can make it for a $1. a gal. yourself.