15% Ethanol??????

Might want to research a little more. Big Oil hates ethanol too which is why the corn industry puts the pressure on anyone considering using independent studies funded by them.
http://www.bnet.com/blog/energy/study-corn-ethanol-wastes-money-hurts-the-environment/2749

On a side note, there are tons of studies showing ethanol is bad for both the environment and for humans. I can't find the links to the studies anymore, but a couple of years ago there were two studies (one done at Stanford University and one done in Australia) that pointed out that ethanol in gas was in urban areas was actually producing more pollution than gas without ethanol and ethanol had a byproduct in the air that caused harm to our lungs (the biggest point they made why we shouldn't be using ethanol).

 

Big oil may not be totally supportive of ethanol in our gas, but they are big enough to extract advantages for themselves from the situation. Consider the oil it takes to raise a crop of corn, transport it, and turn it into ethanol. Plus it keeps the price of a gallon of fuel lower, so we can keep using it at current levels. The petroleum alone used in distilling ethanol offsets any advantage of using ethanol in place of gasoline. So ethanol is not hurting "big oil", and if it allows people to keep using gasoline at relatively low prices, big oil ain't gonna complain too much.

It's going to cost a lot to get off the oil teat, and ethanol is not the way to do it, at least not by converting corn, and the longer we put off getting away from oil as an automotive fuel, the more it will cost. Plus burning ethanol still puts carbon dioxide into the air, thus it is not a viable long term solution. Wake up, America.

 

The following study may interest you.
http://www.carbohydrateeconomy.org/...ch_Energy_Does_it_Take_to_Make_a_Gallon_.html

In short, there is a net energy gain from ethanol production.

I do agree that ethanol from corn feedstock is not anything like an answer to long term fuel supply issues.

 

You know why they put 10% ethanol in gas???

 

Short answer. http://www.cheresources.com/questions/refining-50.html

Longer answer. http://green.autoblog.com/2009/08/13/greenlings-why-is-there-ethanol-in-gasoline/

The current increase in ethanol though has nothing to do with chemistry. Requiring additional ethanol in fuel is seen as a "green" move, and makes the agriculture lobbies happy.

An interesting side note. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel

 

Correct me if I'm wrong.. But is it not cheaper? Basically they add the ethanol to the gas and sell it at the same price.

 

Actually, no. Ethanol is slightly more expensive then gasoline.
http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=1490

This has more current data, but is specific to Nebraska.
http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/66.html

 

Anybody ever read omnivores dilemma? We have too much corn.


This is going to fuck with my bikes carb. I guess im going to race gas if this happens

 

It looks like it will be one of the blends available at the pump. Not the only one. http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13327598

 

I should have probably read the thread before posting