The Coming Food Catastrophe

Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by etempleton on Thursday May 19, 2022 @07:49PM (#31441707)

I think it can be used for that, but it is also used to cut gasoline and therefore make a single barrel of oil go further. Normally ethanol is less than 10 percent, but I think it can be as high as 15 or 20 percent at the pump right now. Modern engines can handle it just fine, but it does slightly reduce fuel economy.

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Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by dredmorbius on Thursday May 19, 2022 @08:13PM (#31441873)

It's also an oxygenation agent, and replaces MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) which ... oh, also substituted for tetraethyl lead. (I thought MTBE was an anti-smog treatment.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTBE_controversy

MTBE turned out to leach into groundwater quite readily and there was a pretty widespread outcry about it in the early aughts. Again, ethanol is a replacement (mentioned in the Wikipedia article above).

And yes, since anti-knock agents effectively slow combustion (and ethanol has lower energy-density than petroleum), net fuel efficiency is slightly reduced on a volumetric basis. Net effect remains better overall engine performance.

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Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by DennisP on Thursday May 19, 2022 @09:45PM (#31442421)

Wow, I had no idea. I thought ethanol was just because farm lobby and a poor attempt at climate mitigation.

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Re:The Coming Food Catastrophe by zrail on Thursday May 19, 2022 @09:10PM (#31442227)

Depending on what state you're in in the Midwest you can sometimes get E85 gas (85% ethanol). It's always clearly marked because not all modern engines can handle that high of a concentration.

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