If E85 cost $2 per gallon and gas cost $2.50 per gallon...I'm not sure which is a better deal. I had a flex fuel vehicle and when I used E85, I noticed a big DECREASE in MPG.

 

If the mixture is too rich you can make more formaldehyde (commercially formaldehyde is produced from methanol albeit with metal catalyst). Normal combustion of methanol should yield carbon dioxide and water. But of course there is really a spectrum of products created and you get some formaldehyde burning regular fuel as well. You definitely get formaldehyde if you drink methanol via the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme

 

I guess I should try and cut methanol out of my diet then.

 

Going blind wasn't the first hint?

 

Well, I looked into this not too long ago. I think there was a respectable study done that said it took more fossil fuels to create the same amount of E85. But admitedly, (I think) the study has aged about 5 or 6 years. And as everyone knows, a lot can happen in that amount of time. I wouldn't doubt that the refinement process has become more efficient, therefore making the production of E85 somewhat more practical. Still, it would take some power source for the refinement, and that seems to be the hitch. Nuclear, wind, and hydro power have been suggested in earlier posts, and I agree that this is the best route.

In Nebraska, we have... well... corn. We are also the 5th best state for the generation of wind power. Anyone that has spent time in Nebraska knows it can be pretty darn windy, and fairly regular. We also have not one, but two nuclear power plants. The raising of crops, and the refinement could be done easily enough in Nebraska, albeit not in an enormous scale.

Now, to sweeten the deal (and this may sound odd) we have a number of Indian reservations in the state that could assume the refinement process. Now hear me out on this one... There is a significant labor force, (and they'd be itching for anything that would generate money) but most ideally, Indian reservations are not subject to state regulation, only Federal jurisdiction. Which would cut out state taxes (much to the chagrin of Nebraska politicians I'm sure).

 

The menthanol isn't why he was going blind.

 

IMO, at best, it will slightly reduce our dependancy, while jacking up the price of fuel to drive our cars.

 

E85 here in Indiana is $0.20/gal cheaper than regular gas. There's a station 20 miles from my house.

 

That would be one important part. Since I don't have a flex fuel vehicle to see how much the decrease would be, I can't say if it would save me any money or not. The option would be nice though, since when gas was about $3.10 a gallon here last year, E85 was still only $1.99.

It would seem to me that since ethanol has a greater octane rating that an increase in compression would allow for greater energy extraction and therefore reduce the MPG decrease. However, this would probably make the engine incompatible with regular 87 octane gasoline. However, if we had ethanol fuel available everywhere gasoline was available, this might not be a problem. Of course, this is much easier said than done.