I'm going to do a little research on this, but I thought I'd ask here as well. Aside from the obvious decrease on dependence of oil, what are the advantages of E85.

Press releases tout that it causes less wear on E85 equiped engines than regular gas in a typical engine.

I've also heard it lowers milage, but by how much?

What does a gallon cost in comparison to 87 Octane? Is there a direct cost advantage? Is the goverment subsidizing E85 production and making it artificially cheaper? Will increased production negate the need for subsidies if they are in place?

As you can see, I have a lot of questions and few answers right now...If anyone can chime in I'd love to hear your opinion.

GM is really pushing this now, I suppose they have a reason why besides the fact that it's a way to promote an environmentally friendly image.

 

The advantage is that it gives money to corn farmers.

 

Better than the $$ being sent to OPEC...

 

Here's a good write-up...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85

Price seems about break-even in older flex fuel vehicles and a little better in newer cars. Prices are kept artificially low via tax breaks though. There is a benfit in energy security, and even though prices go up and down with oil, prices are generally at an advantage to Ethonal given the tax breaks. It's also a renewable energy source. The main advantage however seems to be the positive effect to the economy. It provides jobs and an increase in the tax base. The benefit is not just to corn farmers, but to construction as well as those who run production facilites. That means money going back into our economy and not another oil exporting country.

Only thing I'd worry about is a bad year for the corn crop effecting price.

 

wikipedia says:
slightly cheaper than 87 gasoline
releases less energy when burned, so mileage is worse
E85 has a considerably higher octane rating than gasoline — about 110

the octane rating is what I see as being appealing. with 110 octane you can bump the compression way up and make up for releasing less energy with more compression.

 

Prices are artificially low. They should be around $2.50 a gallon. The goverment tries to help out to keep them around $2.00. Once gas goes over $2.50 and stays up there, E85 will be cheaper.

 

I do not have much more sympathy for corn corporations than for OPEC, and that only extends to the ones that are actually American owned.

 

Corn Corporations?

 

I hope somebody would be able to clear something up for me... how do GM manage to make their engines E85 compatible? Are the fuel lines used made of special (anti-corrosive) metal? What other modifications are needed compared to the normal engines that run on pump fuel?

 

From wikipedia:

 

As long as it takes more than one gallon of oil to produce one gallon of ethanol, E85 is a scam.

 

Thanks Joe K!

Very informative post.

Yes, I agree. E85 is a scam...

 

"One acre of corn can produce 300 gallons of ethanol -- enough to fuel four cars for one year with a 10% ethanol-blend."

http://www.iowacorn.org/ethanol/ethanol_3a.html

It does not take 300 gallons of diesel fuel to run our farm equipment per acre. About 10-20 gallon would be the absolute worst and that's using our 30 year old Farm Equipment.

10 Gallon = 3.33% of Ethanol produced from 1 Acre. Our 100 Acre farm could produce ~ 30,000 Gallons of Ethanol = 600 Barrels.

Now electrical energy would be spent at the Ethanol production facility.

I do not see the other 280-290 Gallons per acre getting used in Transportation???

Add to that the Fact that Ethanol will be cheaper soon and this is only using CORN production. There are other methods that are almost out using "wood chips/grass" that would have far less costs to produce involved. It would also not interfere with the Nations Corn Supply which people would **** their pants if Food Products went up 10% in price...

That's my only concern. Where do you think all of that corn goes? Alot of it goes into Food Products itselfs (and no not the corn you buy on the shelf...), but a big chunk of it goes to feed Livestock that you all eat. Steaks anyone? Corn Prices go up you will see Meat go up as well. Get Ready...

 

Yes, but there's alot of land that is sitting idle due to low prices on the commodities market...puts it back into production.

 

Yeah, well I hope Corn Prices do go up. At $2.06 a bushell the small guys are virtually non-existant anymore... It'd be great for the farmers.

I just see that being an arguement against is that Food prices will take a hit...