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Whether adding ethanol to fuel is to help America become less dependent on foreign oils or just to do something will all that surplus corn farm subsidies have created, there's no debating, ethanol will be at the pumps awhile longer.
What is ethanol?
Ethanol is an alternative biofuel. It's a quasi-renewable, homegrown alcohol fuel made from corn, sugarcane or some grasses. In the United States, ethanol is made primarily from corn.
Plastic and corn don't mix
The ethanol added to gasoline requires the vehicle's manufacturer to coat the engine parts in plastic because ethanol is so corrosive to metal. The flip side of this is gasoline corrodes plastic.
Don't sit idle
Any amount of alcohol added to gasoline or diesel will increase the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) by a pound per square inch. This equals twice as much of evaporative emissions from a parked car idling. To sum it up, our vehicle produces two times the emissions when parked than when driving it.
Supply and demand
We have a lot of corn here in the Unites States, and it's cheap. When ethanol was first introduced to engines, only a small percentage was used. Today's gasoline is mostly produced with 10 to 15 percent ethanol (E10 and E15). There's also a gasoline containing ethanol called E85 which contains 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. E85 is only used in vehicles designated as "Flex Fuel".
What's wrong with corn?
A gasoline-ethanol blend on its own is fine under ideal conditions. The problem is we don't drive under ideal conditions. Ethanol is highly susceptible to change in weather and moisture content. Alcohol in the gas tank can grab hold of more water than gasoline. If the water concentration gets too high, the water and alcohol will drop out of suspension making the fuel unsuitable for your engine. Ethanol increases the likelihood your car's engine will be damaged in the process of trying to utilize contaminated gasoline.
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