I stopped to get some gas the other day and the pump jockey and I were talking about the ethanol that they had in their gas. I asked him how he liked it and he said that he had lost a little mileage and performance with it. I also heard that it was supposed to burn cleaner but it didn't have the performance of gas. Because it didn't have the performance qualities of gas, a person might have to make more stops at the pumps. I was wondering what others thought of it, thanks.

 

There are no "pros" to ethanol in our fuel. Ethanol has a negative energy balance. Ethanol from corn, switchgrass, and wood biomass requires 29%, 50%, and 57% more energy, respectively, to create the ethanol than the energy contained within the fuel. Because ethanol production requires a significant amount of energy, and most energy in the US is produced from coal, the small reduction in CO2 and other polluting emissions from burning ethanol versus gasoline will be more than offset by the power needed to produce the ethanol. Ethanol crops have a notoriously low energy yield per hectare. Thus, it requires a large amount of land to produce a meaningful amount of ethanol. Last year, 20% of the total corn crop was used to produce ethanol, and it offset only 1% of US oil use.

 

So ....

It takes considerable energy to produce ethanol, and our vehicles lose mileage compared to regular gasoline. Are we actually consuming more oil with the utilization of ethanol?

 

+1 on the above, not to mention how it drives up the cost of food.

 

Burns cleaner than gas.

 

I stay away from it when possible, no benefit for me. But then again, I don't believe in global warming either.

 

Well, when I need gas, and I'm in a state that has it, I won't ride to the next one to get without.

pro: it burns cleaner

pro: it burns less oil

pro: good for US corn farmers

con: bad for US taxpayer

con: requires more burning of pertrochemical fuel to refine and produce than it saves when mixed with gasoline

con: drives up cost of food

pro: good for US sugar growers

con: bad for US taxpayer/consumer who is paying for more expensive sugarcane as cheaper foreign sugarcane from Brazil is unlawful to import, even if only for ethanol production (sugarcane costs less to refine into ethanol than corn; Brazil reduced its oil consumption by 25% by using its abundant sugarcane for ethanol)

pro: it's a good idea--burning less oil is a good intention

con: the economics of it as it is now is foolish and costly

 

It sucks big time. Period.

 

i won't fill up with gas containing ethanol.

 

BIGGEST CON, my bike does not like it, the pinging is intensified 10 ten fold when running the blend. Stay away form it if possible.