Can e85 replace gasoline run vehicles? It seems that it has blown up as of late all over the world and could be a full replacement for gasoline, however, because of what's used to make it brings up a controversy on whether it's worth making. Many countries have already taken up e85 as a complete alternative to petroleum products, for instance, one of the biggest consumers of e85 is Brazil. There are some changes that need to be made to vehicles in order for it to not wear out faster but in the grand scheme of things it's cheaper to do the upgrades and run e85. E85 is a great alternative to gasoline, but not a complete alternative because it is made of 85% ethanol and the other 15% is still gasoline, there are other ethanol fuels like e10 and e15 which are 10% and 15% ethanol which is in ordinary gasoline …show more content…
Although e85 seems to be a great way to replace fuel there is a drawback, it's made from a crop or in other words a source of food. So the real question definitely is do we produce fuel for ourselves or feed the starving people of the world? As of right now nearly “...58 percent of the U.S. corn crop was used for feed. The remaining U.S. crop was split between exports (25 percent) and food, seed or industrial uses such as ethanol production (17 percent)” (Soyatech 1). So it's really how the consumer views it because in terms of food corn is at only 25% and 58% for cattle. Another problem with e85 is what happens to it over time. Because of its chemical formula, it likes to collect water and water doesn’t burn so this can damage your engine. However, this happens over a long period of time and shouldn’t be a real concern unless it left for a long period of
However, other vehicles are being made such as hybrids that use less gas as well as natural gas or biodiesel, which may change how inelastic this commodity is. There are substitutes but the primary infrastructure is designed with fossil fuel delivery in mind. Almost all vehicles run on gas it is needed with little to no substitute
California laws have very high support for advanced biofuel development. The California Legislature urges the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action to amend the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard to favor non-food crop biofuel. As a result, this would promote the development of advanced fuels by simply using grasses, wood, algae and other plants to make cellulosic ethanol. Because cellulose makes up nearly half of all plant biomass, cellulosic ethanol is considered the largest potential source of biofuel in the near future. This would eliminate the need to rely on other countries for fuel when the U.S. can establish their own industry. The positive externalities would be more jobs and less pollution in America. However, the process of converting plant-life into ethanol is much more difficult that it is for starch to become ethanol. Consumers may yet face exceedingly high prices for cellulosic ethanol from within U.S. borders.
Switching from the expensive oil to alternative fuels has moved from a dream to reality. Today, there are dozens of alternatives to oil that are currently available us to be used. One alternative to oil that is being used more today is ethanol. Derived from plant materials, ethanol can be a cheaper, cleaner alternative to the gasoline that our vehicles run off. When going to gas pumps, one will notice that much of the gasoline is up to 10 percent of ethanol. According to our text, most ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn, yet ethanol can be made from any biomes-- including garbage. (Turk & Bensel, 2011)
Of course there are reasons why we have not converted to alcohol burning vehicles before. Ethanol costs more per gallon than gasoline. However, new technologies have the potential to produce ethanol at significantly smaller costs. Methanol, a high-performance liquid fuel made from wood or coal, can be produced at prices comparable to the prices of gasoline and natural gas. In addition, oil does not occur naturally in unlimited supply, and just in the past few years, gas prices have been increasing dramatically. Those prices will not fall back down. However, the introduction of an inexpensive alcohol-based fuel would provide an alternative means of power and give consumers more choices.
In the United States, ethanol is primarily used as a blending element in the production of gas and as an alternative fuel. More than 95% of the gasoline sold in the United States contains ethanol. Most of ethanol blending into U.S. motor gasoline occurs to meet the requirements of the 1990 Clean Air Act (RFG Fuel) and the Renewable Fuel Standard set forth in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. (U.S Energy Information Administration)
I believe this switch is vital to our future. With gasoline prices volatile and the Obama administration committed to easing the United States ' addiction to oil, many Americans seem to be taking more interest in pursuing alternative fuels. These alternative fuels include those derived from farm crops and other renewable organic sources. Among the most widely available are biodiesel and vegetable oil, both of which can be used to power a diesel engine.
The higher price of ethanol in many areas is made worse by ethanol’s second disadvantage that it, regardless of the price you pay for it, contains less fuel efficient energy than gasoline. In short, this means cars won’t travel as far on a tank of gas, and most cars fuel economy will decrease by 20-30 percent. This is very
Ethanol is the fuel of the future. Really? How so? Ethanol will solve the energy crisis. That sounds a little far fetched. Ethanol stimulates time travel. Alright, that’s just a flat-out lie. It seems that these days everybody and their brother thinks that ethanol is the magic key to the future of powering automobiles and solving the problem of dependence on foreign oil. Well, that is not the case. Ethanol is not the energy source of the future; in fact ethanol only creates more energy problems.
Electric cars impose a serious risk on the oil and gas industry. The extent by which this market succeeds reciprocally defines the extent by which the oil and gas industry deteriorates. As with all forms of technology, there comes a point in time where one form of technology no longer appears to be useful in comparison with an applicable alternative. The current inhibitors of electric car adoption are the price of batteries and vehicle performance. With that being said, battery prices dropped over 30% just last year and are expected to continue dropping. Projections estimate that 35% of cars will have a plug by 20401. However, even in the next few years, companies such as Tesla, Chevrolet, and Nissan plan to offer electric cars on the market at an affordable price. The question then becomes: when the oil and gas market will be displaced by the electric market? If both markets produce a vehicle of similar price and quality, then it is reasonable to assume that a customer will choose the option that is more eco-friendly. The moral issue still remains: should the vehicles of tomorrow be fueled by gasoline or are viable options readily available and acceptable?
Mankind has relied on non-renewable resources for thousands of years, and only recently has it started to take its toll on the environment. Chemists have been experimenting with different types of fuels and adding to gasoline to make it more efficient. This is when ethanol made its debut into the fuel industry, as an additive to gasoline. Ethanol is put into gas as a combatant against water, which can find its way into fuel tanks of vehicles. It reduces the effect that this water has on the health of the vehicle, and as a result increases gas mileage, and also increases the amount of complete combustion. Ethanol consumption has severe drawbacks pertaining to its effect on the environment. Production of ethanol increases the formation of
There is one reason that hurts me the most about corn ethanol being used in the United States. That one reason is because of animals. One of the bad uses we do is using leftover corn ethanol to fed animals we consume today. Animals like chicken, cattle, and pig eating ethanol is passed on to us. For example, just like a fish eating plastic and us eating the fish. This does not sound appealing. However, not everyone is worried about this.
John Tomlin states that, “sustained use of E15 gasoline could cause… fuel system damage and other problems” (1). Less than five percent of the cars being driven today have been approved to use this new fuel. This statistic means that approximately ninety-five percent of vehicles will end up experiencing fuel system damage. This damage will result in expensive repair bills for consumers. Fuel system damage in these vehicles could also result in unsafe conditions if the vehicles fail to start or if they stall out during operation. The likely cost and possible danger associated with fuel system damage and failure resulting from the use of E15 gasoline demonstrates government’s immoral behavior in promoting the use of this new fuel.
Ethanol fuel has many positive features as an alternative to the use of liquid fuel. First, ethanol is renewable. A relatively safe fuel would show very few engine changes. Second, its energy density is much higher than with some of the other alternative fuels, such as methanol, which means there would be less volume required to go the same distance. With the third benefit of ethanol, it would be able to improve much of the agricultural economies by providing farmers with stable market crops, such as maize and sugar beets, and with
The world produces around 85 million barrels of oil each day. About a quarter of that percentage goes to the United States of America, which is used up mostly by means of transportations. Most people get around from place to place using a car, a car that is powered by fuel. Everywhere one goes driving, they will eventually run into a gas station but not a charging station for electric cars. Regular cars, burn off fuel that produce emissions (carbon, nitrogen, sulfur) that pollute and harm the environment. Although, there are some positives about switching there are also some problems that could appear but could be fixed. Electric cars have the potential to reduce the amount of pollution in the environment, boost the national economy and help
What environmental benefits do we receive form an influx in ethanol as an alternative fuel? First let’s look