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The E in E85 stands for ethanol. Ethanol is an alcohol made by either distilling starchy or sugary organic material. In the case of E85 the material used is corn. E85 is the designation for this type of alternative fuel made from a mixture of 85 percent ethanol. The other 15 percent of this fuel is comprised of gasoline. The concept that lies behind the use of E85 is twofold. First is the environmental benefit that ethanol provides by burning cleaner than gasoline. The second is that the corn and other organic material from which ethanol is manufactured is a renewable resource. In theory we could therefore grow our own clean-burning fuel for as long as the sun shines and the clouds rain. In reality there are benefits and drawbacks in using E85 as an alternative motor vehicle fuel. There are always tradeoffs in the energy equation, and E85 carries no exemption from compromise.
The first problem in running a motor vehicle on E85 relates to chemistry and corrosion. Ethanol, like gasoline, is a solvent. The difference is what it will dissolve. Ethanol also leans more towards the watery end of chemicals where as gasoline is an oil based product. While water is a good from an environmental standpoint it is a bad in so far as internal engine parts, fuel lines and tanks, and gaskets designed for use with gasoline are concerned. Materials compatible with gasoline can corrode and come apart in contact with high percentage of ethanol. Vehicle fuel systems and engines must be specially prepared to run on either E85 or gasoline. Currently these vehicles are known as "flexible fuel", or Flex Fuel (FFV) vehicles and can run on E85 itself, straight gasoline, or a mix of the two. Fuel control systems in Flex Fuel vehicles adapt on the fly to whatever mixture of fuel is in the tank. An engine and fuel system adapted to run on either-or fuel presents another dilemma.
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Ounce for ounce ethanol contains less energy than gasoline. At the same time ethanol can have a much higher octane rating than gasoline. The paradox is an engine designed to run on lower octane gasoline will not burn ethanol very efficiently. This means in general that more ethanol must be burned to return the same energy as gasoline from such an engine. Conversely a high compression or turbocharged engine designed to extract every bit of energy from ethanol will not run very well at all on low octane gasoline. Many of the existing Flex Fuel vehicles actually experience a decrease in fuel economy when running E85 over straight gasoline. While this problem may be offset by the lower pump cost of E85 the benefit of burning more fuel to achieve an environmental end is somewhat questionable.
On the plus side engines and vehicles exist and are on the way that burn E85 at maximum efficiency. Through use of turbochargers and other means, an engine specifically designed to run on E85 or even straight ethanol can return a great deal of energy indeed. Drag and circle track racers have known about this fact for a long time. Racers have been burning up ethanol's chemical cousin methanol and setting records for many years. In fact the Indy Racing League is making the switch over to E85 this coming year. Other racing organizations are considering the switch as well. Alternative fuels, such as E85, need not be boring! A vehicle specifically designed to run only E85 or 100 percent ethanol can solve the efficiency problem but cannot get around a lack of distribution. In this sense a Flexible Fuel Vehicle is indeed flexible, for it can run on E85 or gasoline.
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The great benefit of E85 and ethanol as an alternative fuel is that the materials used in its manufacture can be grown. Less dependency on finite resources of energy for transportation is ultimately of great advantage. The problem today lies in production and distribution. While ethanol itself may burn cleaner, the current crop of vehicles and processes used to make it complicate the clean burning equation. Even if these production hurdles are overcome, the sheer volume of fuel used in this country could require an impossibly large amount of organic material and farmland. Another current issue is distribution. While E85 is readily available in at stations in the Midwest, distribution is sparser in other areas of the country. Flex Fuel vehicles currently get around the distribution issue easily by being able to run on gasoline, E85, or a mix of the two in the tank.
The solution to using stuff we can eat to make ethanol may lie in making it from stuff we cannot or would never want to. New methods of ethanol manufacture utilizing organic material usually thought of as waste by-product such as leftover brewery waste, corn stalks and husks, or other nasty organic leftover mashes may hold promise into the future. Distilling ethanol from fallow field crops such as switchgrass is another idea being tested. Other countries already use other methods to manufacture ethanol. Brazil has produced ethanol from sugar cane for many years. Brazilian fill up stations have long dispensed an ethanol mix or even 100 percent ethanol from the pumps with many vehicles in the country able to run exclusively and efficiently on ethanol.
E85 may not be able solve all our transportation energy problems all at once, but with improvements in production technology, distribution, and vehicle efficiency the fuel does hold some promise as an alternative to gasoline. The very name alternative fuel implies change and choice. There may not be one all encompassing solution to our energy needs. Rather the one big solution may be a mixture of many different smaller ones. Like the vehicles that run on E85 either E85 or gasoline, flexible is what we will have to become to find a comprehensive solution to our future energy problems. While one alternative may work in certain situations it may not work in others. The important thing is that technology is helping us work towards a future with alternatives.
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