Ted
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A MINUTEMAN MINUTE – Mythanol
Add a magical substance to your car's gasoline and it produces less carbon dioxide, and since it – ethanol -- is made right here in the USA, it helps reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Sounds too good to be true? Well it is, on both counts and more.
Ethanol is an alcohol that is made from cellulose; the current favored cellulose source in the US is corn, of which we grow lots. The problems start with the math. Turns out it costs slightly more than a gallon of petroleum (or its equivalent) to produce a gallon of ethanol: The fertilizer is made from natural gas; the farm equipment needed to grow and harvest the corn burns gasoline or diesel; the processing plant is powered by electricity, using hydrocarbon fuel for process heating. So much for reducing our dependence on oil or reducing carbon footprint (even if you believe that stuff).
Also turns out that ethanol has only 2/3 the energy content of gasoline (Check out the numbers at http://zfacts.com/p/436.html.) So that your gallon of ethanol is only worth 2/3 of the gallon+ of fossil fuel it took to make it. Now there's efficiency! Doing the math, 10% ethanol at the pump results in a mileage drop in your car of about 4.5%. So you need to buy more of it to go the same distance.
At this point, few would still argue that "gasohol" really accomplishes its intended purpose, but the corn growers' and ethanol producers' lobbies are of such strength now that 'm afraid it will be a long time before we see it phased out. In fact they are pushing for 15% ethanol! Just what we need. Maybe November offers hope.
Back to the technical, to those of you with older boats that incorporate epoxy fiberglass gasoline tanks in the hull – don't even think of filling up with gasohol. The ethanol contained slowly dissolves the epoxy resin, eventually causing disintegration of the tank, resulting in gasoline leaks into your bilge – very bad! And guess where that dissolving resin goes when running your boat – right into the engine; also very bad unless you were looking to replace the engine anyway.
Older, small equipment engines, such as in Weedeaters and lawn mowers, can also be damaged by gasohol, which can dissolve hoses and some plastic parts. And, finally, ethanol loves water. The humidity that enters your boat's (newer cars have a sealed cap to prevent this) tank twice daily with the air's heating and cooling, condenses in the tank and is absorbed by the ethanol until it is saturated and separates out, sinking to the bottom of the tank where it can rust steel tanks and be sucked up into the engine, which is not designed to burn water and alcohol.
And back to the economics, since a significant part of the nation's corn crop is going into our gas tanks that leaves much less for food – all the corn-based products we consume plus what we feed our nation's livestock. Have you noticed the price of food lately? It also reduces our available corn export, which is normally a nice, positive, trade balance component.
There are still a few places where you can find non-ethanol gas. Go to http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=VA to locate the nearest to you. If you are not a Virginian, replace the last two letters of the address with your state's abbreviation. I have found the cost of non-ethanol gas to be only slightly higher than gasohol at service stations. However, it is a lot higher at Marinas (but then what would you expect?) I wish you good hunting.
Illegitimi non Carborundum!
MinuteMan
Fellow Pats --
Here is an article from the Minute Man last year on gasohol that y'all might find of interest.
TedThis message was sent by Ted Williams (wmwships08@gmail.com) from Peninsula Patriots.On Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 8:36 PM, Ruth Litschewski <ruth1860@aol.com> wrote:
Great opportunity for us to join the Middlesex TP group hosting a very interesting Town Hall.
Check this out.
*Town Hall*"What's Wrong with Ethanol?"Jerry Lehman, SpeakerRetired flight engineer and businessman-Thursday, April 4, 2013 @7:00 p.m.-Cooks Corner Office ComplexPublic Conference Room2693 General Puller Highway, Saluda, VAWith gas prices above $4 a gallon in many parts of the U.S., consumers have a right to know why. Crude oil prices have fallen by 1% since the end of February while gas prices are up 12%. Higher oil prices aren't the answer. Blame this one, at least in part, on Washington and ethanol. -WSJ, 3/11/13Let's learn what we can do about it!Sponsored by the Middlesex Tea Party
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