What is E85 fuel?

Answer 1

== == E85 is an alcohol fuel mixture that typically contains a mixture of up to 85% denatured fuel ethanol and gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume. On an undenatured basis, the ethanol component ranges from 70% to 83%. E85 as a fuel is widely used in Sweden and is becoming increasingly common in the United States, mainly in the Midwest where corn is a major crop and is the primary source material for ethanol fuel production. E-85 ethanol is used in engines modified to accept higher concentrations of ethanol. Such flexible-fuel engines are designed to run on any mixture of gasoline or ethanol with up to 85% ethanol by volume. The primary differences from non-FFVs is the elimination of bare magnesium, aluminum, and rubber parts in the fuel system, the use of fuel pumps capable of operating with electrically conductive (ethanol) instead of non-conducting dielectric (gasoline) fuel, specially-coated wear-resistant engine parts, fuel injection control systems having a wider range of pulse widths (for injecting approximately 60% more fuel), the selection of stainless steel fuel lines (sometimes lined with plastic), the selection of stainless steel fuel tanks in place of terne fuel tanks, and, in some cases, the use of acid-neutralizing motor oil. For vehicles with fuel-tank mounted fuel pumps, additional differences to prevent arcing, as well as flame arrestors positioned in the tank's fill pipe, are also sometimes used.

Use of E85 results in reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and energy use for each gallon burned, compared to the emissions and energy use for the gasoline it replaces. Using corn based fuel ethanol production, E85 has a significant effect on total fossil fuel / energy usage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As process efficiency increases over the coming years, these benefits are expected to continue to improve. A recent study by University of California at Berkeley estimates it cuts greenhouse-gas emissions by 13% over gasoline.

105 octane E85 fuel produces less energy per gallon than gasoline, translating in fewer miles per gallon; however, the higher octane allows for greater horse power performance. Unless E85 is 15% or lower than the price of gasoline, consumers won't see any savings in fuel costs per mile; however, even at higher prices the consumer aids the farmer and sends less money to terrorist funding countries. Thankfully, the average e85 retailer sells this product for at least 15% less than 87 octane regular gasoline. This makes e85 fuel a win win situation for everyone except oil producers.

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