Ethanol: The First Biofuel

• All Flex Fuel Vehicles have this symbol and "FFV" on the vehicle.
  
  Ethanol is a biofuel; it is a hydrocarbon compound produced using organic matter that can be burned in an internal combustion engine that propels vehicles. Ethanol is derived from fermented corn or other sugar-based feedstock, ammonia or sulfuric acid (depending on the process used) and enough gasoline to classify the resulting ethyl alcohol as a fuel rather than a distilled spirit. Cellulosic ethanol was the first alternative fuel to be produced in large enough quantities to be widely marketed. Today, additional refining processes use "biomass" sources such as wood, brewery and food wastes to make ethanol. Ethanol producers currently have the ability to produce about 5 1/2 billion gallons of ethanol. It is available in two forms: "gasohol," which contains 10 percent ethanol; and 85 percent ethanol "E85," with an octane rating of 105.
  
  

Using Ethanol

• An E85 pump is similar to any gas pump.
  
  Ethanol burns hotter and faster than regular gasoline, so vehicles that burn it must have more heat-resistant engines; metals in fuel lines, fuel injectors, fuel tanks, piston rings, fuel pumps and other components must be made of ethanol-compatible materials. Fueling and spark advance calibrations must be adjusted. Anti-siphon and spark arrestor features must be added to the filling spout because of ethanol's conductivity and increased flammability. Once these adjustments are made, the vehicle can run on fuel with up to 90 percent ethanol. Unfortunately, although E85 is generally less expensive than gasoline, it produces 20 to 30 percent less energy (meaning fewer miles per gallon). In the end, the overall cost of regular gas and E85 is just about equal--at the current time. On the positive side, vehicles using E85 reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent and reduce carbon dioxide and benzene emissions as well. But E85 vehicles do release another toxin, acetaldehyde, in exhaust. Drivers should also remember that the cost of ethanol production---and therefore its ability to compete with the price of gasoline---is heavily dependent upon federal and state subsidies.
  
  

The Flex Fuel Advantage

• As of 2008 there were about 1300 E85 stations in the U.S.
  
  More than 6 million Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) on American roads are built to the more exacting specifications of ethanol-burning engines. As a result, they are able to run on gasoline, E85 or a combination. Ethanol is not substantially cheaper or more energy-efficient than gasoline at this point--and E85 filling stations are rather scarce--but a vehicle that is ethanol-compliant can use whichever fuel is the best bargain in a changing marketplace. The introduction of Flex Fuel Hybrids--FFVs with electric battery components as well as ethanol-compliant systems--adds another way of limiting our reliance on petroleum products. FFVs might not be the future of the automobile, but they are certainly providing millions of Americans an interim alternative until batteries and hydrogen cells are developed for the middle-class consumer.