Common ethanol fuel mixtures: Difference between revisions
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==E100== |
==E100== |
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E100 is straight ethanol, 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. |
E100 is straight ethanol, 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 hydrated ethyl alcohol, which is a mixture of 96% of ethanol and 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, but the value is not typically disclosed.{{Citation needed}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 01:51, 14 June 2006
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and methanol (methyl alcohol) are two types of alcohol fuels. In their anhydrous or pure forms, they can be mixed with gasoline (petrol) if running either pure or 190 proof alcohol is not practical. Typically, only ethanol is used widely in this manner, particularly since methanol is toxic.
E5, E7, E10
E10, also frequently 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.
It has been introduced nationwide in Denmark, and in 1989, Brazil produced 12 billion litres of fuel ethanol from sugar cane, which was used to power 9.2 million cars. It is also commonly available in the Midwestern United States and is the only type of gasoline allowed to be sold in the state of Minnesota.
Similar blends include E5 and E7. These concentrations are generally safe for recent, unmodified automobile engines, and 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 (4,280,000 m³) of gasoline. This was less than 1% of the total fuel used that year.[1]
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, generally up to 85% ethanol E85.
E20
E20 contains 20% ethanol and 80% gasoline. This fuel is not yet widely used in the United States, but will be mandated by the U.S. state of Minnesota by 2013. 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%.
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 400 public E85 fuel pumps in the U.S. as of 2005, mostly concentrated in the Midwest, with a large portion 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. 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 has traditionally been similar in cost to gasoline, but with the large oil price rises of 2005 it has become common to see E85 sold for as much as $0.70 less per gallon than gasoline, making it highly attractive to the small but growing number of motorists with cars capable of burning it.
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 straight ethanol, 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 hydrated ethyl alcohol, which is a mixture of 96% of ethanol and 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, but the value is not typically disclosed.[citation needed]