The Future of E-85

We have heard a lot about E-85 ethanol especially as oil is slowly running out.  I would like to list some simple positives and negatives of E-85, and then you can make an educated decision if it is good or terrible. So here we go! 

Positives:

1.  Price: It is cheaper than gasoline if you make it yourself.  This is not easy, but it can be done.  It is distilled from corn (or potatoes can be used).  It would cost anywhere from $0.66 cents to $1.50 to refine. 

2.  Environmental: E-85 burns at an octane level of 100-110 though it depends on what you use as a base for your ethanol. It also burns very clean and that helps the environment.  If everyone used it, the amount of hydrocarbons released would decrease tremendously.

3.  Dependence: Using E-85 would also lessen our dependence on foreign oil.  In doing this, we would help fuel our econemy by keeping your money in the U.S. instead of the OPEC nations.

Negatives:

1.  Worse Fuel Efficency: It would take more gas to get from point A to point B. Estimates say fuel efficency could go down anywere from 5% to 30%, so we aren’t exactly sure how much but it will be effected.

2.  Food Loss: If everyone made E-85, there could be a lack of corn or potatoes for people to eat and the price would most likely go up dramatically. If this happened, it would no longer be cheaper to make E-85, so that positive would go down the drain.

3.  Low Yields: Imagine that you distill your ethanol and it is draining into a bucket, and when you check on it, there is only half a gallon and not five gallons, as you had hoped. This is what would happen because it takes a lot of raw material to make the finished product. For the amount of raw material, you are not equally rewarded with a good amount of E-85.

So in conclusion, we can all see why the automakers and the government have many decisions to make about which way energy efficiency will move in the future.  As they say, “Nothing is black and white.” Though, there are many shades of gray when it comes to the future of twentieth century fuel sources and how they will impact our economy and environment.