Update on 15% ETOH in gasoline

[Pu241]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110121/ap_on_re_us/us_epa_ethanol

I do take exception to:

"Ethanol burns hotter than gasoline, causing catalytic converters, which help clean engine emissions, to break down faster."

Ethanol burners cooler than gasoline, so somebody at the AP needs to do their home work.

[JPT]

You mean after all these years, everything I've read about Ethanol burning cooler is wrong?

I guess you learn something new every day.

[bravekozak]

quote

Ethanol is less fuel efficient. Burns much hotter than gas. It arguably takes more energy to make it than it creates and it adds to global warming almost as much as gas. It it not the holy grail of alternative fuel.


Ethanol does not have the BTU rating that gasoline has. It takes about 20% more Ethanol to equal the energy of gasoline. Ethanol does, however, burn cooler, actually, than gasoline. The octane rating for Ethanol is about 100, or better. which means that it burns for a longer period of time, and delivers more of it's energy to the engine. The reason that an engine "seems" to get hotter burning such high octane fuel is that the burn time is longer with such fuels as alcohol as opposed to gasoline, so the engine tends to retain more heat than with a lower octane fuel.

Ethanol is slower and more difficult to ignite,...
Well, the flash point of ethanol is higher, but in the compression stroke of an engine, you're hundreds of degrees above either gasoline or ethanol flash point. Ethanol might be a bit more difficult in the cold, but at warm operating temps, I suspect there is hardly any difference. One possibility may be an ethanol engine can run higher compression, so it may appear 'harder to ignite' but it's really just due to increased cylinder pressure/denser air.

Once ignited ethanol flame speed is faster than gasoline....
Yay!! We actually have a correct statement!! All else being equal ethanol is generally faster than gasoline.

Ethanol will burn longer within cylinder and sustain better pressure at high leverage angle of crank...

But what about my lawnmower?

http://www.buzzillions.com/reviews/star-brite-startron-gasoline-engine-fuel-treatment-reviews

The higher the octane number, the slower the fuel burns. Under identical conditions higher octane fuel burns cooler. However, because it does burn cooler, it can be burned under more aggressive conditions and not produce engine "knock". That means higher octane fuel can be burned with higher relative compression, greater timing advance, and leaner fuel mixtures to produce more heat (burns hotter)from a given volume of fuel. And that means more power to the wheels.

Octane number is now a rating based on how fast an eight carbon aliphatic hydrocarbon burns (octane). Gasoline composed of 100% octane has an octane rating of 100. However, gasoline is not a single substance. It is a mixture of hundreds of different hydrocarbons. A cocktail of chemicals that burns the same rate as a solution containing 89% octane has an equivalent octane rating of 89.

[FestYboy]

and here i was told that the OCTANE rating is a fuels resistance to self ignition (ping or knock). now who's right?

[lessersivad]

Ah ethanol. Another "feel good" fuel.

[bobbyspider]

did i miss something while i was gone? how did artys title get changed to "excitable boy!" ?:dontknow:

[FestYboy]

been that way since last madness (FM3)

but i didn't do it.....

[bobbyspider]

what did you do to get that lable ha ha ha i gota hear some stories :p

[blkfordsedan]

There's a lot of hype on the local radio stations about the new E15 causing damage to older vehicles. I don't foresee the increase from 10% to 15% Ethanol as really making much difference, other than causing the MPG to decrease some more. I suspect the Octane rating will be about 90 for the new E15. Not really enough to make much difference either.

I have some cousins that are big corn growers in the area. The majority of the corn they harvest is sold to the local Ethanol plants. Last fall, the price hit about $6.00 per bushel.............they sold a total of about 400,000 bushels.

[bobbyspider]

i saw the same thing on the news

[Pu241]

what did you do to get that lable ha ha ha i gota hear some stories :p

Show up and you wont have to hear stories.
Even Gfa...orcefd actually made it to FM4 this year, cost me $5, but you don't hear him wondering about what went on!

Arty, I assumed you haven't fixed bobby's car!

[bobbyspider]

Show up and you wont have to hear stories.
Even Gfa...orcefd actually made it to FM4 this year, cost me $5, but you don't hear him wondering about what went on!

Arty, I assumed you haven't fixed bobby's car!

wow that sounded harsh! im sorry i was getting married that week but i guess that wasnt good enough. btw arty and i had my b6 in and running in a day ish he took care of me -thanks

[FestYboy]

yeah !! anyway ! lol

i'm good to my friends John, you know that...

[Pu241]

wow that sounded harsh! im sorry i was getting married that week but i guess that wasnt good enough.

Sorry isn't good enough!
You need to get your priorities straight.
Clearly your personal life has taken precedence over your interest in festivas!

Note: One way to type capital letters is to press and hold the "Shift" while pressing the key containing the letter you desire to capitalize.

[FestYboy]

Note: One way to type capital letters is to press and hold the "Shift" while pressing the key containing the letter you desire to capitalize.

Now that's harsh.... John, play nice.