What type of cars can ethanol fuel be used in? Can it be used in any car? Where can I find ethanol fuel in NC?

Answer 1

The use of ethanol blended fuel is on the rise in the United States, and particularly in Michigan where the use of such fuel has surpassed the 90 million gallon mark in 2002 alone.. Ethanol fuel is a mixture of conventional gasoline and ethanol. The result is a much cleaner burning fuel that is just as efficient as standard fuels. In Michigan, the mix is typically set at 10 percent ethanol to 90 percent gasoline. This mixture is optimized for a combination of clean exhaust and efficiency, and will function properly in any non-diesel car or truck.

So, what is ethanol? Ethanol is ethyl alcohol and when used for fuels needs to be 100 percent pure. It is difficult to produce pure ethanol through conventional distillation techniques alone. For that reason, additional steps are used in the creation of ethanol for fuel. There are several ways to get there; however, most of the plants in the United States producing ethanol for fuel are using a dry milling process, the major steps of which are outlined here in chapter four.

In addition to the 1:9 mixture of ethanol to gasoline, which any car can use, there is another mixture produced specifically for new flexible fuel vehicles or FFVs. This mixture is called E-85 and consists of 85 percent ethanol to 15 percent gasoline. It should be noted that this fuel mixture will not burn well, if at all, in conventional cars and trucks. FFVs, however, are designed to run well on this high ratio mixture of ethanol to gas; moreover, they are able to detect the specific ratio of ethanol to gas and adjust themselves accordingly to run as efficiently as possible. The State of Michigan vehicle fleet has over 500 FFVs as of early 2003. More will be purchased in the future. FFVs can also run on regular gas, too: that's how flexible they really are!

Because ethanol fuels are made from renewable home-grown resources such as corn, they have proven beneficial to both the economy as well as the environment. From each bushel of corn, 2.7 gallons of ethanol can be derived, along with two other co-products: distillers' dried grains (a protein feed supplement for cattle), and carbon dioxide, which has a range of industrial as well as commercial uses. U.S. production of ethanol has surpassed the billion gallon mark and currently produces 2.2 billion gallons.

The only commercial ethanol plant, Michigan Ethanol LLC in Caro, MI, started operations in November 2002 and continues to operate very well. This is a 40 million gallon per year facility that has 30% stock ownership from Michigan corn growers and the rest is privately owned by Broin Companies of South Dakota, which built the plant, and another private investor from Michigan.

Michigan is proud of the fact that the Michigan Ethanol LLC plant has "state of the art" air pollution control equipment built-in which the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality believes meets the new national air quality standards for ethanol plants. It is one of the best plants in the nation because it is using thermal oxidizers with its grain dryers.

Governor Jennifer Granholm signed state legislation last summer that removes the "Gasoline Contains: 10% ethanol sticker on all gasoline pumps in Michigan, beginning either January 1, 2004 or when federal energy legislation is signed by President Bush, whichever is sooner. This action should expand future consumption of ethanol (E-10) in Michigan.

On June 1, 2003, the ban on MTBE in all unleaded gasolines took effect in Michigan, which is considered a significant environmental and ethanol achievement. The MTBE ban had been passed as state legislation back in 2000 and it went into effect without any gasoline supply or price disruption.

Answer 2

Well, first obvious things (and i think the main problem) are the cost to produce machine (or specifically engine) that uses ethanol cost much more than usual gasoline. A car that uses ethanol can cost more than 50 % if compared to gasoline car. Other problem is, there is only little amount of gas station that supply ethanol (as far as i know, in UK, the first ethanol gas station is built just about a month ago in Norwich - place where i live). When you ran out of ethanol, it will be devastating if you can't find gas station that can supply ethanol for u. I think only that is the big problem, i think, eventually, everyone will use ethanol, it's just not fully supported yet.

Answer 3

You can only use ethanol in a vehicle marked for E85 fuel or marked as "flexfuel." There will be a label inside the fuel filler door. Here's a link to a list of the E85 stations in NC:

http://www.e85fuel.com/database/locations.php?state=ncNorth%20Carolina

If your car isn't marked for E85 or flexfuel, do NOT put E85 in it. It will not run properly and you may damage the fuel system of your car. This will void your warranty.

Keep in mind that fuel economy when running on E85 will be much worse than when running on regular gasoline. Even though the price per gallon is lower, the cost per mile is almost always higher when running on E85.

The dirty little secret with E85 in the US is that it is NOT an environmnetally viable fuel. It takes more fossil-fuel based energy to produce it than is realized from a gallon of ethanol when you factor in the fuel used by the farmer that grows the corn and the energy used in production of the ethanol.

A much better fuel for the US would be soy-based bio-diesel. This IS environmentally viable and has a much lower cost per mile than any current ethanol-based fuel. As a bonus, the exhaust smells like popcorn popping!

Answer 4

There aren't any cars that can use pure enthanol as fuel yet. The gas that has ethanol in it is only 10 %. Fuel system components would be damaged if it was used in a pure form and the calibration would be different as alcohol doesn't burn the same as gasoline.

Answer 5

Almost everyone is burning E10 gas now (10% ethanol).

Only E85 vehicles are totally compatible with 85% ethanol gas (you need the 15% gas content for cold starting). Most cars can be converted - it involves replacing fuel components that hold up to the more corrosive ethanol.

Answer 6

Gas Stations Usually Supply ethanol fuel. It can definatly not be used in any car. It will ruin it. I'm not sure what cars take it. But I can say that not all cars do. If your car is a ford, don't use it. Some chevys use it........good luck! THE GUY BELOW IS WRONG. E85 FUEL DOSNT WORK LIKE THAT....DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM!!! PLEASE!!

Answer 7

All of your questions can be answered by going to e85fuel.com
If you go to the newsletter.....look up May 2005 newsletter. read the part about the BBC coming to the US to learn about Ethanol. Not bragin' but that was ME who supplied them with a Flex-Fuel Explorer to drive during their visit. Really check out their website. And buy an American made car that can be fueled with American made fuel! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!

Answer 8

Well i have heard that all cars can run on it its just the effectiveness of the ethanol in the car. I also heard that Ford cars run awesome on it.