E20 Fuel Reduces Carbon Monoxide and Hydrocarbon Emissions in Automobiles

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.rit.edu/news/?r=47447

Release Date: March 29, 2010
Contact: William Dube
[phone] or [e-mail]

E20 Fuel Reduces Carbon Monoxide and Hydrocarbon Emissions in Automobiles

New study indicates ethanol-gasoline blend also has no measurable impact on drivability

A new study by the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology indicates that the use of E20 fuel, which blends 20 percent ethanol with gasoline, reduces the tail pipe emissions of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, compared with traditional gasoline or E10 blends. In addition, the research team found no measurable impact to vehicle drivability or maintenance in conventional internal combustion engines.

The data illustrates the potential benefits of E20 as a tool in reducing overall vehicle emissions at a time when many states and the U.S. Department of Transportation are considering policies that would increase the ethanol percentage in standard gasoline.

“Currently, numerous commercially available gasoline brands contain 10 percent ethanol,” notes Brian Hilton, senior staff engineer at the center, a component of the RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability, and part of the research team. “There have been concerns raised that any increase in blend would negatively impact standard internal combustion engines, however our data shows that vehicle performance remained constant, while carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions were decreased even over E10 blends.”

The RIT team, which was also led by Brian Duddy, a senior program manager at the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, worked with the County of Monroe, N.Y., to test the use of E20 in 10 older gasoline vehicles that were not designed for ethanol fuel mixtures. The study utilized service vehicles used by the county, which logged over 100,000 miles on E20 fuel and were analyzed periodically both for emissions and overall wear and tear on the vehicle. The fleet showed an average emissions reduction for carbon monoxide of 23 percent as well as a 13 percent reduction for hydrocarbon emissions, compared to conventional gasoline, with no measurable stress on vehicle operation or mechanics.

The study results were published in the Journal of Automobile Engineering and are being used by the Environmental Protection Agency to promote the federal Renewable Fuel Standard program. This effort has mandated an increase in the volume of renewable fuel required to be blended into transportation fuel from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2022. The RIT team is continuing to work with Monroe County to convert their entire conventional gasoline fleet to E20 and will provide additional analysis on the impact of ethanol on long-term vehicle durability.

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[Statistical]

1. I notice they ignored CO2.

In perfect combustion there is no hydrocarbon emissions or carbon monoxide.

Hydrocarbon + Oxygen = CO2 + H20.

The problem with ethanol is lower energy content.
Less miles per gallon while same CO2 emissions.
When you add all the carbon overhead in corn based CO2 (farm equipment, fertilizer, transportation, processing) with the reduce mpg efficiency are we really reducing net CO2 by a meaningful amount?


If you burn hydrocarbons you will always produce CO2. It is impossible to no produce CO2 or to even reduce CO2 emissions. The only way to produce less CO2 is burn less fuel.

For example and Hummer and Prius both produce the EXACT same amount of CO2 per gallon. They emit 19.3 gallons of CO2 per gallon burned. The only difference is the Prius goes much further on the same gallon.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Naturally they didn't mention CO2 (it's still combustion)

On the other hand, the ethanol will likely be produced from biomass of some sort. (Which will have taken carbon out of the atmosphere.)

Running on 100% biomass ethanol (ideally) would be "carbon neutral." (In the real world of "corn ethanol" it would not be.)

[kestrel91316]

2. Doesn't ethanol exhaust also contain formalin/formaldehyde??

Highly carcinogenic. I thought I heard that at some point but may be mistaken.....

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. Adding ethanol to gasoline appears to decrease formaldehyde emissions

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11393966

Environmental implications on the oxygenation of gasoline with ethanol in the metropolitan area of Mexico City.

Schifter I, Vera M, Díaz L, Guzmán E, Ramos F, López-Salinas E.

Subdirección de Proceso y Medio Ambiente, Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, Eje Central L. Cárdenas 152, México, D.F., CP 07730. [e-mail]

Comment in:

* Environ Sci Technol. 2001 Dec 15;35(24):4957-60.

Motor vehicle emission tests were performed on 12 in-use light duty vehicles, made up of the most representative emission control technologies in Mexico City: no catalyst, oxidative catalyst, and three way catalyst. Exhaust regulated (CO, NOx, and hydrocarbons) and toxic (benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and 1,3-butadiene) emissions were evaluated for MTBE (5 vol %)- and ethanol (3, 6, and 10 vol %)-gasoline blends. The most significant overall emissions variations derived from the use of 6 vol % ethanol (relative to a 5% MTBE base gasoline) were 16% decrease in CO, 28% reduction in formaldehyde, and 80% increase in acetaldehyde emissions. A 26% reduction in CO emissions from the oldest fleet (< MY 1991, without catalytic converter), which represents about 44% of the in-use light duty vehicles in Mexico city, can be attained when using 6 vol% ethanol-gasoline, without significant variation in hydrocarbons and NOx emissions, when compared with a 5% vol MTBE-gasoline. On the basis of the emissions results, an estimation of the change in the motor vehicle emissions of the metropolitan area of Mexico city was calculated for the year 2010 if ethanol were to be used instead of MTBE, and the outcome was a considerable decrease in all regulated and toxic emissions, despite the growing motor vehicle population.

...

[kestrel91316]

5. Oh, I had it backwards.