E-85 An Alternative Fuel Concept

Ethanol is a home-grown fuel that can help us become independent from imported oil and help our balance of trade. Ethanol is made from corn, a renewable resource, and a crop grown in abundance in Illinois.

Illinois produces about 685 million gallons of ethanol annually, making it the largest ethanol producer in the nation. This burgeoning industry uses 274 million bushels of Illinois corn each year, or about 17% of the Illinois corn crop. Farmers benefit because ethanol production provides consistent demand from

surplus corn and improves corn prices. Each bushel of corn can produce 2.6 gallons of ethanol fuel. Only the starch from the corn is used to make ethanol, leaving protein and valuable co-products for other uses.

Manufactures utilize increasingly sophisticated technology to convert the starch to sugar. This sugar is then fed to yeast which converts the sugar to ethanol.

It has been argued that it takes more energy to produce ethanol than is gained in the conversion process. Nothing could be further from the truth. On average, there is a 33% net energy gain, or more than 25,000 BTU’s, while the industry’s best plants produce an 87% net energy gain.

The general economy benefits because the industry creates an estimated 192,000 jobs and increases farm income by $4.5 billion annually. Ethanol use results in a net federal budget savings of more that $3.3 billion.

The driving force for this increasingly popular automotive fuel technology is society’s multiple concerns of increasing air pollution from fossil fuels like gasoline, our dependence on foreign suppliers for half our fuel needs, and the dim prospects for gasoline in the future as the world’s oil supply dwindles. Fossil fuels also contribute greatly to greenhouse gas formation.

The Illinois Corn Marketing Board brought the first E-85 car to Illinois in order to introduce the technology to the public. E-85 vehicles have been designed for versatility. They will operate with unleaded gasoline or any mixture of gasoline and ethanol up to an 85% concentration. This is why they are often referred to as "flexible fuel vehicles." A key component in all ethanol vehicles to date is a sensor which determines the percentage of ethanol in the fuel, optimizes performance and adjusts emission control devices.

A gallon of E-85 ethanol fuel contains about 2/3 the energy of a gallon of gasoline. This means that E-85 vehicles should get about 2/3 the fuel mileage of the gasoline versions of these vehicles. However, some E-85 vehicles are getting 5-10% above what was expected or 18-20 miles per gallon. Repairs and reliability of the E-85 vehicles has been slightly better that their gasoline counterparts. Comparative testing of gasoline and E-85 models at 100,000 miles shows that ethanol engines have half the wear. The price of E-85 ethanol fuel is about the same or slightly less that the price of premium gasoline. Research continues to improve ethanol production efficiency, which should allow ethanol to remain cost competitive as tax incentives are phased out.

There are currently 34 models of E-85 vehicles available to the general public. Ford Motor Company leads the way with 11 E-85 vehicles including the F-150, Ranger, Explorer Sport, and the Taurus. Honda offers the Civic, Dodge offers the Chrysler Town and Country, Dodge Caravan, Chevrolet offers the Cavalier, S-10, and Toyota offers the RAV-4EV.

The prices of E-85 vehicles when first introduced were slightly more expensive than their gasoline counterparts, but today they are priced competitively with gasoline versions of the same model.

If you would like more information on alternative fuel vehicles, the use of ethanol and it’s production, go to the Alternative Fuels Data Center at www.afdc.doe.gov, or the Office of Transportation Technologies at www.ott.doe.gov.

Source: Illinois Corn Growers Association