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Biofuel samples left to right: ethanol, soy biodiesel, animal fat biodiesel, biodiesel with glycerin, crude glycerin.
E15 and Your Vehicles and Small Engines
E15 fuel or gasoline with up to 15% ethanol will start to show up at some fueling stations sometime in 2012. Adoption of E15 will vary depending on state laws. Some industries, media outlets, and individuals have brought up many questions regarding use of E15 in vehicles and small engines.
Firstly for any car or small engine read your owner’s manual to determine the type of fuel recommended. Nearly all vehicles built in the past 15 years are approved to run ethanol blends up to 10%. If you own a Flex Fuel Vehicle you can use blends up to 85% (E85).
Most small engine manufactures also allow E10 blends. (For Example: Briggs and Stratton allows up to 10% ethanol in all 2 and 4 stroke engines. Link to Briggs and Stratton fuel page)
To prevent misfueling look for the label showing the fuel is an E15 blend. The label below is proposed by the EPA to tell you if the fuel is E15.
Studies up to this point have shown no statistical difference between E0 and E15 in tailpipe emissions, and corrosion of most engine components. Alternatively studies have shown differences between fuels in some small engines. Some examples are higher temperatures of exhaust components, cylinder heads, and cylinders with E15 blends. Some two cycle engines had higher idle speeds with E15. Yet no sensitivity to ethanol from a durability perspective was seen in residential class I small engines. Also no obvious materials compatibility issues were noted.
For more information see the Fact Sheet Prepared by Oklahoma State University.
Ethanol Gasoline Blends and Small Engines
Sources:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Impact of Intermediate Ethanol Blends on Legacy Vehicles and Engines
Minnesota Department of Agriculture: E20: The Feasibility of 20 Percent Ethanol Blends by Volume as a Motor Fuel
Renewable Fuel Association: The Use of Ethanol Blended Fuels in Non-Road Engines
E10 and E85 in Flex Fuel Vehicles
A study done at UNL by the faculty and staff of the Industrial Ag Products Center shows increased efficiency of engines using higher ethanol blends. This study was funded by the Nebraska Corn Board. Click here to view the summary.
Ethanol
Nebraska is ranked 2nd in ethanol production nationally producing approximately 1.7 billion gallons of ethanol per year (Renewable Fuel Association). Corn is the major ethanol crop consuming more than 600 million bushels of corn annually, which represents the 3rd largest use of Nebraska's corn crop. One bushel of corn can produce approximately 2.8 gallons of ethanol and 17 lbs of distillers grains (NE Ethanol Board).
Ethanol has been used as a motor fuel for internal combustion engines since their invention, yet politics and economics have favored petroleum based fuels for much of the past century (Smith and Workman 2004). The current rise in fuel ethanol production and consumption is related to ethanol’s characteristics including oxygen content, octane and renewable production. Ethanol’s high octane content of 115 compared to regular gasoline’s 87 makes it a valuable additive to replace methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in modern gasoline’s (Bromberg and Cohn 2008). With such positive fuel characteristics it has been common to blend ethanol into gasoline at the 10% level. Public policy influences fuel ethanol economics. Currently a $0.45 per gallon tax credit is in place as the volumetric ethanol excise tax credit (VEETC). Also expanding fuel ethanol consumption are renewable fuel standards (RFS) set by congress in 2005 for 7.5 billion gallons per year to be blended with petroleum fuels and the second version of the RFS (RFS-2) was passed in 2007 and calls for 36 billion gallons of biofuel to be blended with petroleum fuels by the year 2022 (EPA).
References:
Bromberg L. and Cohn D.R., 2008, Effective Octane and Efficiency Advantages of Direct Injection Alcohol Engines, MIT Laboratory for Energy and Environment Report, LFEE 2008-01 RP
Environmental Protection Agency
Smith J.L. and Workman J.P., 2004, Alcohol for Motor Fuels, Farm and Ranch Series Equipment no. 5.010,
Ethanol Mythbusters
by John Hay, Extension Educator
(pdf document, requires Acrobat Reader, download free.)
Many myths surround ethanol and its production:
- net energy balance,
- water use,
- mileage,
- food vs. fuel,
- environmental issues.
This presentation lists facts related to these issues asking the audience to make up their own mind.
Biodiesel
Biodiesel is using a feedstock of vegetable oil. In the U.S. soybean oil is the oil of choice, yet worldwide canola, palm, sunflower and rapeseed oils are common feedstocks. The oil must be chemically reacted with an alcohol like methanol and a catalyst in a reaction called tranesterification.
Small Scale Biodiesel
Production of biodiesel in small quantities for farm or personal use has been common question. Two extension publications below attempt to examine the opportunities and challenges associated with small scale biodiesel production and use.
On-farm energy - Can we make it work? commentary by Bill Booker - Extension Educator, Box Butte County.
Small-scale Biodiesel Production and Use by John Nowatzki - North Dakota State University (*pdf)
Small Scale Biodiesel Production An Overview by Joel Schumacher - Montana State University (*pdf)
(*pdf document requires Acrobat Reader - free download)
