Green Transportation Basics by Dan Chiras

Author:Dan Chiras
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Society Publishers
Published: 2010-08-18T16:00:00+00:00

Fig. 6.1: Ethanol is a two-carbon alcohol that burns inside internal combustion engines.

On the plus side, ethanol can be burned in vehicles in place of gasoline, but only in vehicles with properly modified engines (higher compression engines with special gaskets and hoses). More commonly, alcohol is mixed with gasoline at concentrations ranging from 5-95%. As noted above, in the US, many gas stations sell a mix of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline either throughout the year or just during the winter months. This mix helps reduce carbon monoxide pollution from cars. (Ethanol oxygenates the fuel and reduces carbon monoxide emissions.) No engine modifications are required to burn ethanol at this concentration. As of January 2009, approximately 1,900 filling stations in the US offered gasoline containing 85% ethanol (E85). Many of these are located in the Midwest, close to the source.

E85 Fueling Station Statistics

You can tell a lot about a country’s commitment to ethanol by the number of ethanol fueling stations per million people in the population. In Brazil, there are 176 stations for every million people. In Sweden, there are 130. In the US, however, there are only 6 stations for every million inhabitants.

You can also tell a lot by the percentage of registered flex-fuel vehicles and the amount of gasoline ethanol “displaces.” In Brazil, 12% of all registered vehicles are flex-fuel. In Sweden, it’s 2.9%, and in the US it’s 2.8%. Unfortunately, most people who drive flex-fuel vehicles in the US don’t fill their tanks with E85. Many are not even aware they own a flex-fuel vehicle. As for market share, ethanol’s share of the gasoline market is about 50% in Brazil, but only 4% in the US.

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