How Eco-Friendly is Ethanol?

As America ramps up to produce more biofuels there are growing doubts about how green ethanol really is. There are some reports that the production process for ethanol requires as much energy as the biofuel will produce.  In addition, ethanol production requires extravagant amounts of water. 

A typical factory producing 50 million gallons a year will require about 720,000 gallons of water per day. Many biofuel projects are being challenged by local residents as a result of the massive water requirements.

Another major issue is that biofuel production ties up farmland that could be used for food production.  Much of the current rise in food and agricultural prices can be attributed to diversion into biofuels. 

There are also undisclosed problems when ethanol is mixed with gasoline (10% ethanol or E10) to run vehicles. Ethanol attracts water.  When water gets into fuel the engine can be hard to start. When E10 is first run through an engine it tends to clean out old deposits.  This can cause problems.  There are some reports that E10 causes damage to fuel pumps. There are some reports of lower gas mileage when using E10.

In the motorcycle industry there are reports that E10 causes problems with carburetors.  Smaller engines with carburetors like boats, lawnmowers, and chain saws will have the most problems with E10 because all parts of the engine can be damaged.

Today's tip is to avoid using an E10 gasoline-ethanol mix (if at all possible) for powering motorcycles, boats, lawnmowers or chainsaws.  Also avoid using E10 with older cars because they are more susceptible to damage as a result of E10.  Use of E10 on new cars may be acceptable.