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Another serious problem with corn ethanol as a replacement for gasoline, is the engine damage on standard vehicles. E10 contains ten percent ethanol and is acceptable for most vehicles on the road today, while E15 contains fifteen percent ethanol and is usually prohibited for cars built before 2001. [ 5 ]
Given the questions about the effect of ethanol on engines, it remains to be seen if the federally mandated alternative fuel goals for the next decade will be reached, but one thing is certain: 10 ...
Ethanol is commonly made from biomass such as corn or sugarcane. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 × 10 9 liters (4.5 × 10 ^ 9 U.S. gal; 3.7 × 10 ^ 9 imp gal) to more than 52 × 10 9 liters (14 × 10 ^ 9 U.S. gal; 11 × 10 ^ 9 imp gal).
At this time, costs of conversion of cellulosic fuels, at $1.46 per gallon, were roughly twice that of corn-based ethanol, at $0.78 per gallon. Cellulosic biofuels from corn stover and miscanthus were 24% and 29% more expensive than corn ethanol, respectively, and switchgrass biofuel is more than twice as expensive as corn ethanol. [29]
Current corn-ethanol technologies are much less petroleum intensive than gasoline however have the GHG emission levels similar to gasoline. [77] The literature is mainly unclear what the GHG emission changes would be by adopting corn-based ethanol for biodiesel. Some studies report a 20% increase in GHG emissions and some report a 32% decrease.
Vapor lock is a problem caused by liquid fuel changing state to vapor while still in the fuel delivery system of gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines.This disrupts the operation of the fuel pump, causing loss of feed pressure to the carburetor or fuel injection system, resulting in transient loss of power or complete stalling.
In order to reduce ethanol evaporative emissions and to avoid problems starting the engine during cold weather, the maximum blend of ethanol was set to 85%. [4] There is also a seasonal reduction of the ethanol content to E70 (called winter E85 blend) in very cold regions, [5] where temperatures fall below 0 °C (32 °F) during the winter.
Sugarcane ethanol has an energy balance seven times greater than corn ethanol. [101] As of 2007, Brazilian distiller production costs were 22 cents per liter, compared with 30 cents per liter for corn-based ethanol. [102] Corn-derived ethanol costs 30% more because the corn starch must first be converted to sugar before distillation into ...