Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Ethanol and E-85
I've been getting a lot of hits from people searching for information about ethanol and E-85, and I have to tell you I'm very pleased about that.
I've started another weblog that is dedicated to the advancement of the use of ethanol for automobiles. E-85 is an 85% blend of ethanol with 15% gasoline. It is much less polluting, costs less, and is produced right here in the United States.
You see, I believe that we are all stewards of God's creation. It is incumbent upon all of us to show our gratitude to God for the abounding blessings we enjoy here on this beautiful planet. To that end, it is our spiritual act of worship to do all we can to conserve the beauty of our planet by reducing waste.
Ethanol reduces the amount of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gasses that are released into the atmosphere. Partly due to the chemical nature of ethanol, and partly because it is composed of agricultural products that would have degraded anyway, returning carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Additionally, ethanol production benefits Indiana farmers.
Anyway, that other website is Fueling the Future. There you will find links to other websites that are equally enlightening.
I've started another weblog that is dedicated to the advancement of the use of ethanol for automobiles. E-85 is an 85% blend of ethanol with 15% gasoline. It is much less polluting, costs less, and is produced right here in the United States.
You see, I believe that we are all stewards of God's creation. It is incumbent upon all of us to show our gratitude to God for the abounding blessings we enjoy here on this beautiful planet. To that end, it is our spiritual act of worship to do all we can to conserve the beauty of our planet by reducing waste.
Ethanol reduces the amount of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gasses that are released into the atmosphere. Partly due to the chemical nature of ethanol, and partly because it is composed of agricultural products that would have degraded anyway, returning carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
Additionally, ethanol production benefits Indiana farmers.
Anyway, that other website is Fueling the Future. There you will find links to other websites that are equally enlightening.
Comments:
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Uncommon wisdom from a Purdue grad (just kidding, I went to IU!)...
We at the American Lung Association of Minnesota have been strong supporters of E85 for long time. See more on our clean fuel program at this web site:
www.CleanAirChoice.org
Bob Moffitt (former Hoosier)
Communications Director
American Lung Association of MN
We at the American Lung Association of Minnesota have been strong supporters of E85 for long time. See more on our clean fuel program at this web site:
www.CleanAirChoice.org
Bob Moffitt (former Hoosier)
Communications Director
American Lung Association of MN
Gary, thank you for your comments. I don't claim to be an expert in this field. However, I would venture to say that this may be our best alternative to importing all that foreign oil to product the 170 billion gallons of gasoline our society consumes. We will always need petroleum to produce plastics and other products.
My understanding about the use of the corn for ethanol production is that the parts used to make ethanol would otherwise be wasted. So you could rationalize that there is no net increase in pollution in regards to the agricultural resources since the waste from corn production is going to emit carbon dioxide as it decays anyway.
As for the decrease in fuel economy, engineers at Saab have shown that by reingeneering their engines, they can actually increase power by 20 percent. How that factors in a loss of BTU, I have no idea. Perhaps that is an irrelevant measure when it comes to internal consumption engines.
Finally, I read a report produced by the USDA in 2004 that said that the net energy balance for ethanol was 1.67 to 1, meaning (for the uninitiated) 67%more energy is produced from the ethanol created than the energy consumed to create it.
Gary, I'm no engineer. I hope you'll forgive me if I'm misrepresenting facts. If I'm emotional about this issue, it's because I wish for a day when we no longer need to be involved in squabbles in the middle east because of oil.
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My understanding about the use of the corn for ethanol production is that the parts used to make ethanol would otherwise be wasted. So you could rationalize that there is no net increase in pollution in regards to the agricultural resources since the waste from corn production is going to emit carbon dioxide as it decays anyway.
As for the decrease in fuel economy, engineers at Saab have shown that by reingeneering their engines, they can actually increase power by 20 percent. How that factors in a loss of BTU, I have no idea. Perhaps that is an irrelevant measure when it comes to internal consumption engines.
Finally, I read a report produced by the USDA in 2004 that said that the net energy balance for ethanol was 1.67 to 1, meaning (for the uninitiated) 67%more energy is produced from the ethanol created than the energy consumed to create it.
Gary, I'm no engineer. I hope you'll forgive me if I'm misrepresenting facts. If I'm emotional about this issue, it's because I wish for a day when we no longer need to be involved in squabbles in the middle east because of oil.
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