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Thread: Why haven't we gone to Ethanol?

  1. #1
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    Why haven't we gone to Ethanol?

    I just saw on the news that the IRL is going to start using partial ethanol and then go to full ethanol fuel. This will give the same performance and since ethanol is based on corn, it's renewable.

    So 1) Does it give off less emissions? and 2) Do you think that road cars will ever go to ethanol fuel?

  2. #2
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    If memory serves, it doesn't have the self-lubricating qualities of gasoline. There are a couple other issues as well.

  3. #3
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    Because of the power of the oil companies !!

    Henry Ford had the original Model T running on ethanol as he favoured it as "the fuel for tomorrow" He lost the battle against the oil giants back then
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'

  4. #4
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    So 1) Does it give off less emissions?
    Yes. For example, there are around 30% less carbon monoxide emissions (most dangerous to human health) in ethanol-blended fuel. Using pure stuff would be even better.

    2) Do you think that road cars will ever go to ethanol fuel?
    I think that cars will be using a lot more of it, although it might still be uncommon to see a car running around on pure alcohol fuel. Gasahol blends are currently being used all over the place - ethanol is found in pretty much all high-octane automotive gas.

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    Oil companies and most governments are buddy buddy so they dont want people to start using alternative fuels.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by aNOBLEman
    I just saw on the news that the IRL is going to start using partial ethanol and then go to full ethanol fuel. This will give the same performance and since ethanol is based on corn, it's renewable.

    So 1) Does it give off less emissions? and 2) Do you think that road cars will ever go to ethanol fuel?
    One of the biggest problems is the amount of land it would require for all vehicles to run off of it. However, there are a lot of advantages for farmers to run their own equipment off it. All they have to do is reserve a relatively small portion of land for crop to be converted to fuel. The long term savings are fairly decent.

  7. #7
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    there is plenty of space left in Africa to grow it !!!!!

  8. #8
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    There isn't, however, plenty of water left in Africa to grow it.
    An it harm none, do as ye will

    Approximately 79% of statistics are made up.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by jcp123
    There isn't, however, plenty of water left in Africa to grow it.
    dont you know africa is very dry ?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by drakkie
    dont you know africa is very dry ?
    yes he means there is space but no water

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by CoTTerik
    yes he means there is space but no water
    oops, can happen... i am not a native speaker of english, so i can get confused sometimes...

  12. #12
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    cars have to be specially desgined to run on ethanol. anything higher than about 10% in a car designed to run on normal petrol can wreck your motor, eating away at parts and such. also power can be decreased and fuel comsumption goes up. there was a big thing about ethanol fuel in australia last year and the ethanol levels got capped at 10%
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  13. #13
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    Not sure if this is true with ethanol, but it might be interesting for some of you.
    Petrol is burned in the engine at a ratio of around 13-14:1 meaning that fourteen times more air is needed than air. Methanol however, is burned at a ratio of 4.5-5.5:1. This means only three times more air to fuel is needed. In reality this means an engine running on methanol would need three times as much fuel than if it were running on petrol, this would result in a larger fuel tank, fuel lines etc. Don’t think manufactures would go for all that lost passenger space. The interesting part is that methanol does not contain as much energy as petrol (just less than half) however; you would be burning three times as much of it! Therefore a greater amount of power could be achieved for the amount of air the engine is taking in, this is why methanol is so popular where a small inlet is unavoidable or inlet restrictors are used. Methanol also has a higher latent heat of evaporation than petrol, resulting in a cooler charge and combustion chamber, piston crown etc. There are some real advantages to running on methanol.

  14. #14
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    Thanks for the information Mpackham! It's a shame that you don't post more often

  15. #15
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    What mpachham said is true: an engine on methanol runs richer, cooler and consumer more. Some cars, like the Cooper-Bristol F1 in the 50s used a methanol-petrol mixture. Serious downside of methanol: the flames are invisible !!

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