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McCook Gazette
Editorial

Study finds ethanol blend fuel more efficient

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Ethanol-blend fuel is usually the lowest price at the pump, but contains less energy, meaning lower mileage, right?

Well, yes, but according to a study by the University of Nebraska, that's only part of the equation.

One has to be skeptical of any study funded by any industry, but this one, funded by the Nebraska Corn Board, does make some good points.

High ethanol blends, the study concludes, provide better energy conversion within an engine than other fuels, meaning you can travel farther on less energy.

That means ethanol isn't getting the credit it deserves for being a replacement for petroleum fuel, according to Randy Klein, director of market development for the Nebraska Corn Board.

That means e85, which contains only 15 percent petroleum-based gasoline, may be the most efficient and often the most cost-effective fuel for flex-fuel vehicles, he said.

"Since e85 is also the cleanest fuel on the market, and contains so little petroleum-based gasoline, it has a very positive impact on the environment and can significantly reduce our use of foreign oil."

The report said e85 improved energy conversion by 13, 9 and 14 percent, respectively when compared to e10 for the light, medium and heavy-loaded vehicles tested, respectively.

Yes, e85 has fewer BTUs per gallon than e10, leading to fewer miles per gallon, but that is partially offset by ethanol's improved efficiency.

But fuel economy is actually a combination of fuel efficiency and fuel price, and on that point, higher ethanol blends may be the better choice, said Loren Isom, one of the researchers.

"Fuel economy is actually a combination of fuel efficience and fuel price, and on that point, higher ethanol blends may be the better choice," Isom said.

"It just depends on the fuel prices at the time. Specific vehicles may test out differently, based on engine design and settings, but increased efficiency from ethanol blends make sense, and for the fuel prices we looked at in the study, e85 was the best choice every time."

In other words, at the right gasoline prices, e85 was the lowest cost fuel per mile, and the most efficient fuel in the study, researchers concluded.

Unfortunately, one may have to look hard to find a pump offering e85 in our part of the state.

If you want to get the most out of your flex-fuel vehicle, however, it might be worth it to make the extra effort.

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  • No matter how you figure it, it cost more to drive on e85 then regular unleaded gas. This is even before you factor in the energy lost producing the ethanol.

    Ethanol for fuel is just a bad investment.

    -- Posted by Meshedup on Wed, Oct 21, 2009, at 9:40 PM

  • Must be something huge coming in the universe because I find myself agreeing with SCEPTRE for once. There are indeed better ways of manufacturing ethanol than food crop derived ethanol. Too Bad SCEPTRE couldn't think of any to list.A few of those would be cellulosic derived ethanol which uses crop residues and non food plants such as switch grass as feed stocks for the process, another technology currently showing promise is algae derived biofuel.

    http://tinyurl.com/623e5o

    I'd suggest that as ethanol mixed fuel becomes more common such manufacturers as Briggs and Stratton will adapt or face the consequences.Actually there are a great many technologies presently in development which will ultimately help us reduce our dependency on fossil-based fuels. Each one of these technologies becomes much more significant and efficient when aided by stringent conservation measures.

    -- Posted by davis_x_machina on Fri, Oct 23, 2009, at 11:09 AM

  • Duh ...

    "..In other words, at the right gasoline prices, e85 was the lowest cost fuel per mile, and the most efficient fuel in the study, researchers concluded.."

    It's no revelation that if you can find e85 that is cheap enough, it will become the "lowest cost fuel per mile."

    The above article somehow failed to mention that the study concluded that e85 still drops mileage about 16% compared to gasoline. Consumer Reports found it dropped mileage 27%. Who to believe, corn ethanol proponents or consumer Reports. Tough call. They both showed a significant decline in gas mileage.

    -- Posted by RTF on Sat, Oct 24, 2009, at 1:34 PM

  • http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byfueltype.htm

    Pretty good comparison.

    -- Posted by Meshedup on Sat, Oct 24, 2009, at 8:19 PM

  • Nothing could hurt how poorly Briggs and Stratton engines run. There should be a warning label on them before you buy that says: Buy a Honda, Dopey!

    -- Posted by Justin76 on Sun, Oct 25, 2009, at 11:02 AM

  • We purchase E85 for $1.589 compared to $2.399 for regular in Brighton, Colorado. Calculate the difference in price with the difference in gas mileage and E85 comes out on top.

    Briggs & Stratton is junk. When's the last time you drove your lawnmower to work, you dorks?

    I tell you what, all of you naysayers, slap on some sheets and move to Saudi Arabia.

    Me, I'm going to support America. This is promising technology.

    USA, USA, USA...

    -- Posted by showtechall on Sun, Oct 25, 2009, at 7:15 PM

  • Pay the dirty terror states 140 crude oil in OPEC or our own farmer/taxpayers in USA??? is it really that tough of decision...Its amazing local stupidity on ethanol and they still like supporting the international big oil companies greed and OPEC that brought us 9/11 and all new security cost to all of us in USA. These people/terror states & Taliban want us dead periond and never forget it.......

    -- Posted by Cornwhisperer on Tue, Oct 27, 2009, at 10:53 AM
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