Current Ethanol Industry Products
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and methanol (methyl alcohol) are two types of alcohol fuels. The use of pure
alcohols in internal combustion engines is only possible if the engine is designed or modified for that
purpose. However, in their anhydrous or pure forms, they can be mixed with gasoline (petrol) in various
ratios for use in unmodified automobile engines. Typically, only ethanol is used widely in this manner.
E5, E7, E10
E10, sometimes called gasohol, is a fuel mixture of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline that can be
used in the internal combustion engines of most modern automobiles. According the Philippine Department
of Energy, E10 is not harmful to cars' fuel systems. On October 27, 2006, though, the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) published their Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin - Automobile gasoline
containing alcohol (Ethanol or Methanol) is not allowed to be used in aircraft.
E5, E7, E10 Usage
It has been introduced nationwide in Denmark and Thailand, and will replace high octane pure gasoline
in Thailand in 2007. It is also commonly available in the Midwestern United States. It is the only type
of gasoline (besides aviation grade fuels) allowed to be sold in the states of Connecticut and Minnesota,
along with E85. About half of the gasoline used in the U.S. contains ethanol. As of spring of 2006,
due to the phasing out of MTBE as a gasoline additive, E10 use has increased
throughout the United States.
Similar blends include E5 and E7. These concentrations are generally safe for recent engines that run
on pure gasoline. Some regions and municipalities mandate that the locally-sold fuels contain limited
amounts of ethanol. One way to measure alternative fuels in the US is the "gasoline-equivalent gallons"
(GEG). In 2002, the U.S. used as fuel an amount of ethanol equal to 137 petajoules (PJ), the energy of
1.13 billion US gallons (4.28 GL) of gasoline. This was less than 1% of the total fuel used that year.
Many petrol stations throughout Australia are now also selling E10, typically at a few cents cheaper per
litre than regular unleaded. It is more commonly found throughout the state of Queensland due to its large
sugar cane farming regions. The use of E10 is also subsidised by the Queensland government. Some Shell
service stations are also selling a 100 RON E5 blend called V-Power Racing (as opposed to the normal
ethanol-free 98 RON V-Power). This is typically a fair bit more expensive, approximately 17¢ dearer
than regular unleaded.
In Sweden, all 95-octane gasoline is in fact E5, while the status of the 98-octane fuel is unclear for the
moment. The product data sheets of the major fuel chains do not clearly state anything related to ethanol
contents of the 98-octane gasoline. In the early-mid nineties, some fuel chains marketed E10 but today the
sale of E10 is prohibited due to EU legislation.
E15
E15 contains 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline. This is generally the greatest ratio of ethanol to gas
that is recommended by auto manufacturers that sell vehicles in the United States, though it is possible
that many vehicles can handle higher mixtures without trouble. Flexible-fuel
vehicles are designed to take
higher concentrations, up to 96% v/v ethanol (and no gasoline).
E20
E20 contains 20% ethanol and 80% gasoline. Since February 2006, this is the standard ethanol-gasoline
mixture sold in Brazil, where concerns with the alcohol supply resulted in a drop in the ethanol percentage,
previously at 25%. Brazilian flexible-fuel cars are set up to run with gasoline in such concentration
range and few will work properly with lower concentrations of ethanol. U.S. FFV can run below 20%
ethanol, but up to E85.
This fuel is not yet widely used in Australia or the United States. It will be mandated by the U.S. state
of Minnesota by 2013.
E85
E85 is a mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, and is generally the highest ethanol fuel mixture
found in the United States. It is common in Sweden, and there are more than 1,000 public E85 fuel pumps in
the U.S. as of 2006, mostly concentrated in the Midwest, with over half of those in Minnesota.
This mixture has an octane rating of about 105. This is down significantly from pure ethanol but still much higher than normal gasoline 87 octane. The addition of a small amount of gasoline helps a conventional
engine start when using this fuel under cold conditions. E85 does not always contain exactly 85% ethanol.
In winter, especially in colder climates, additional gasoline is added (to facilitate cold start). E85 contains approximately 27% less energy per gallon than conventional gasoline, although ethanol
typically burns more efficiently. This results in a fuel economy loss of less than the energy content would
imply.
E95
E95 contains just 5% gasoline and is used in some diesel engines where high compression is used to ignite
the fuel, as opposed to the operation of gasoline engines where spark plugs are used.
E100
E100 is ethanol with up to 4% water, which is most widely used in Brazil and Argentina. Operation in
ambient temperatures below 15 °C (59 °F) causes problems with pure, or so-called neat, ethanol for
starting engines. The most common cold weather solution is to add an additional small gasoline reservoir
to increase the gasoline content momentarily to permit starting the engine. Once started, the engine is
then switched back to neat ethanol. Ethanol used as a fuel in Brazil is the azeotrope (the highest
concentration of ethanol that can be achieved via distillation) and contains 4% of water. However,
since the E nomenclature is not adopted in the country, one can tag hydrated ethanol as E100 so as to say
that it doesn't have gasoline. Gasoline itself is sold as E20 up to E25, in accordance with current
legislation (since February 2006, the concentration ranges from 19% to 21%), but since the value
is not typically disclosed by gas stations, adulterations to lower gas costs could raise the ethanol
concentration up to 40% in extreme cases.
amounts of ethanol. One way to measure alternative fuels in the US is the "gasoline-equivalent gallons"
(GEG). In 2002, the U.S. used as fuel an amount of ethanol equal to 137 petajoules (PJ), the energy of
1.13 billion US gallons (4.28 GL) of gasoline. This was less than 1% of the total fuel used that year. 