What
is ethanol?
By Sherwin Long
The Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
03 18 07
Ethanol
is a clean-burning, high-octane fuel that is produced
from renewable sources. At its most basic, ethanol
is grain alcohol, produced from crops such as corn
and sugarcane.
Pure,
100 per cent ethanol is not generally used as a
motor fuel. Instead, a percentage of ethanol is
combined with unleaded gasoline. This is beneficial
because the ethanol:
decreases
the fuel’s cost
increases the fuel’s octane rating
decreases gasoline’s harmful emissions
Any amount of ethanol can be combined with gasoline,
but the most common blends are:
E10:
10% ethanol and 90% unleaded gasoline
E10
is approved for use in any make or model of vehicle
sold in the US. Many automakers recommend its use
because of its high performance, clean-burning characteristics.
E85:
85% ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline
E85
is an alternative fuel for use in flexible fuel
vehicles (FFVs). There are currently more than four
million FFVs on America’s roads today, and
automakers are rolling out more each year. In conjunction
with more flexible fuel vehicles, more E85 pumps
are being installed across the country. When E85
is not available, these FFVs can operate on straight
gasoline or any ethanol blend up to 85 per cent.
It
is important to note that it does not take a special
vehicle to run on “ethanol.” All vehicles
can use E10 with no modifications to the engine
but E85 is for use in a flexible fuel vehicle.
Trinidad
Guardian
Thursday 8th March, 2007
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©2005-2006 Trinidad Publishing . All Rights
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