CCD Editor’s Note: As noted before, the ethanol industry is one big pork pie. That view may not be popular in all places, but for those that have studied the issue, there are simply no benefits to adding corn-based alcohol to your gasoline. Oil companies hate it because it cuts into their sales, enviros hate it because it destroys the environment, and motorists hate it because it ruins small engines and raises prices. So why are we rushing headlong into E15 blends all year long? #
A week spent lobbying on Capitol Hill left a major ethanol coalition dismayed by lawmakers’ lack of understanding of the problems facing the industry.
One of the biggest shockers for the ethanol lobby was that lawmakers, primarily Republicans, thought that President Trump’s plan to allow for higher blends of ethanol to be sold year-round was a done deal.
“For a lot of lawmakers, they thought the E15 [15-percent ethanol blend] issue was sort of dealt with already,” Brian Jennings, the president and CEO of the American Coalition for Ethanol, told John. He said that they heard a lot of: “It’s already taken care for you, right?”
The problem with that perception is that it isn’t taken care of — far from it — despite Trump making it a key part of his agenda in 2019.
In fact, the proposed rule at the Environmental Protection Agency to lift restrictions on E15 ethanol fuel blends has only just begun to work its way through the administrative process, with the oil industry already threatening to sue if it’s approved.
Jennings and his members were on the Hill last week with the intent of getting lawmakers up to speed with the significant problems they have with the pending EPA ethanol plan.
However, the feedback they received from members means they have to rethink their lobbying and education campaigns.
Jennings said he and his members had to spend time clarifying that “no, it’s not taken care of for us,” and then go into the details of the EPA rule, which would actually do the opposite of Trump’s intended result by restricting sales of E15.
There are four or five pieces to the E15 rule.
The only part of the proposal the ethanol industry favors is the piece that removes the Reid vapor pressure restrictions for using higher blends in the summer, instead of just the fall, winter, and part of the spring.
The U.S. consumes the most gasoline in summer, and allowing E15 to be sold in the summer would open up a huge market for the industry.
Jennings was also disappointed in lawmakers’ understanding of the EPA refinery exemption program, which is separate to the E15 rule, but even just as problematic and damaging to the industry, he explained.
Since the beginning of Trump’s presidency, EPA has granted waivers to dozens of oil refineries to free them from blending ethanol into the gasoline supply as required by the law and EPA’s renewable fuel program.
The ethanol industry argues that the exemptions constitute “demand destruction” for their product and are currently suing the EPA over its use of the exemptions.
The exemptions have faced pushback from Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa, but outside of them and a few others, most lawmakers on Capitol Hill aren’t as attuned to the problem, according to Jennings and his group.
Part of the problem is the complexity of the EPA renewable fuel program or Renewable Fuel Standard, and lawmakers having a hard time keeping track of the problems it and the ethanol industry faces, says Jennings.
Read rest at Washington Examiner
It also cuts down on MPG, big time. Stupid damn Gov!
Theory supports observed results. Hydrocarbons release energy when burned by adding oxygen to the hydrogen and carbon atoms. Ethanol already contains an oxygen atom in what would otherwise be an ethane molecule. This means there is less energy available when Ethanol is burned.
Adding ethanol to gasoline shows a serious wide scale consequence of the climate change movement. The adding ethanol has been disowned by the original supporters including the environmentalists, and for good reason. It does not cut down on carbon dioxide emissions, it makes fuel more expensive, and it damages many types of engines, some of which are not small. The only reason the practice continues is a lobby has formed to support it. Now consider other actions taken to address the “problem” of climate change. If causes to subsidize wind and solar energy disappeared, either because climate change was recognized at not being real, or it was determined these are not effective solutions even it is real, you can bet lobbyist for the industries would be hard at work to keep the subsidizes and mandates going.
I worked 35 years in plants that depended on coal. It’s number one and only virtue was cost. After that, a litany of flaws. Coal is not pure carbon. It’s a chemical smorgasboard. Benzene and naphthalene are two of my favourites. Blast furnace waste water contains cyanide. It takes designer biological “bugs” and chlorine gas to neutralize it. To completely recover the entire heat value of coal, very high temperature and excess oxygen are required. That results in oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, then acid rain . So burning coal has a trade – off. Cheap and dirty.
Your health is the subsidy.
Yes, ethanol is an oxygenated fuel. You’re paying for something that’s normally free. The best use of ethanol would be in engines designed specifically for E85, not E15, not Flex Fuel. E85 can withstand much higher cylinder pressure, which increases efficiency/mileage. This has been known for a long time, but it hasn’t happened. You’d think that Iowa, Illinois and Indiana would have embraced it but Detroit hasn’t taken the plunge.
My car’s owner manual states that using an ethanol mixture above 10% will damage the pollution control system. Why hasn’t that been brought up?
What part(s) would be damaged?
Knowing that ethanol is part of our fuel supply, the manufacturer should use material that is compatible.