grow sugar cane in the empoverished parts of the world, and pay people to grow it, maybe?
On Sat, 7 Jun 2008, Jennifer Jackson wrote: > We also need to consider what using grain alcohol as fuel is going to > continue to do to the cost of food. That is a somewhat hidden cost that > should be associated with this change to grain based fuels. > > > Jennifer > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Lenny McHugh > To: [email protected] > Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2008 6:54 PM > Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Alcohol as fuel > > > Hmm! I can see the people siphoning fuel now. On the serious side I am not > sure about the E15 fuel. A friend told me that he will never use it again. > He has an older Camry and always got at least 28mpg. He started using E15 > and now is getting 21 mpg. I was one of those who had a lot of problems from > gasohol. I had some expensive repair bills due to it. > Lenny > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ray Boyce" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2008 6:01 PM > Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Alcohol as fuel > > Alcohol is a viable fuel for vehicles. Ford Model T's were run on it during > the depression; some drag racers use it, Indy race cars use it, and cars in > some overseas countries run on alcohol fuel. In Canada, the auto > manufacturers are just starting to design cars that can run on either > gasoline or E85 (a mixture or 85% ethyl alcohol and 15% gasoline). It is > relatively easy to modify a vehicle to run on alcohol, although fuel > injected vehicles will need a little help from a computer programmer, so why > are there no alcohol fuel stations? > > The answer is cost! Even though alcohol is manufactured from a renewable > resource, and it is fairly simple to manufacture (just ask a moonshiner!), > the cost of producing a litre of alcohol is more than the cost of producing > a litre of gasoline. As the cost of gasoline rises, producing alcohol for > fuel will become economically practical. > > There are other disadvantages of using alcohol. The heat content of a litre > of alcohol is less than gasoline so more alcohol must be used to achieve the > same power levels. The penalty is decreased fuel economy and lower driving > range without installing bigger fuel tanks. Another disadvantage of alcohol > as a fuel is its lower volatility. During hot weather driving, the fuel > vaporises easily and vapour lock (fuel boiling in the lines) can occur. This > can make the engine run rough or even prevent it from running. Sealed and > pressurised fuel systems on fuel injected vehicles would tend to prevent the > fuel from boiling, so this may not be a big concern for modern designs. > > There are a couple advantages of alcohol as a fuel. It mixes easily with > water and prevents ice formation in cold weather. There is no need to add > gas line de-icer. It also has a higher octane rating than gasoline, which > allows engine compression ratios to be increased and ignition timing to be > advanced for better performance. > > Currently, there is only one major fuel company in Canada supplying fuel > with alcohol in it. Mohawk sells both regular and premium fuel with a blend > of alcohol and gasoline. Advertisements for the fuel claim that up to 40% > fewer emissions can be obtained by using this fuel. This can be true, but it > depends on the age of the vehicle you are driving. > > Alcohol is an oxygenate. This means that the alcohol in the fuel breaks down > as it is being burned to produce extra oxygen. The extra oxygen combines > with the fuel to produce more complete combustion, more power, and lower > emissions. However, this process only works well when there is an excess of > fuel already entering the engine. Many carburettor-equipped vehicles would > produce fewer emissions by using fuel with alcohol in it, but if your engine > was already running with a lean fuel mixture, adding alcohol to the fuel can > cause a hesitation or stumble. > > Fuel injected vehicles use an oxygen sensor to fine-tune the fuel delivery. > If fuel with alcohol is used, the oxygen sensor measures the extra oxygen > and signals the computer to supply more fuel. The engine should not operate > any different or produce fewer emissions in this situation. > > Many consumers refer to gasoline and alcohol fuel blends as "Gasohol". > Gasohol got a bad name in the United States during the fuel shortage crisis > of the early 1970's. Some fuel companies were using too much alcohol, or the > wrong type of alcohol! This problem has not existed in Canada and has been > corrected south of the border. > > Two types of alcohol are available for blending with gasoline: ethyl alcohol > (grain alcohol) and methyl alcohol (wood alcohol). Ethyl alcohol can be used > by itself as a fuel but when it is marketed as a mix with gasoline it is > limited to 10% by volume. This is acceptable by most automobile > manufacturers. If in doubt, check your owner's manual. > > Methyl alcohol on the other hand is very corrosive. Most manufacturers do > not recommend the use of it. Those that allow it specify a maximum of 3 to > 5% and that anti-corrosion additive must be part of the fuel as well. > Fortunately, methyl alcohol is not used with fuel in most of North America. > It is just too corrosive. > > General Motors did evaluate a fleet of test vehicles in Alberta on M85 fuel > (85% methyl alcohol and 15% gasoline) a few years ago. Stainless steel was > used for fuel tanks, fuel lines, gauge sending units, and other special > parts of the fuel system. This was necessary to resist the corrosive nature > of the fuel. The vehicles ran well, but fuel injector problems were frequent > because the fuel would attack the conventional gasoline injectors. The test > fleet is no longer in service. > > Alcohol has the potential to replace gasoline in the future or at least > extend our gasoline supply. The successes in development of other alternate > energy sources may limit the use of alcohol as a fuel, but there has been > some work in using alcohol in conjunction with fuel cells to produce power > for tomorrow's vehicles. Alcohol has been used as a fuel for centuries. > Maybe it will be the fuel of the future too. > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > ------------------------------------ > > To listen to the show archives go to link > > http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=33&MMN_position=47:29 > Or > ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ > > The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. > http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday > > Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various > List Members At The Following address: > http://www.jaws-users.com/JAWS/handyman/ > > Visit the archives page at the following address > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > If you would like to join the JAWS Users List, then visit the following > address for more information: > http://www.jaws-users.com/ > For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list > just send a blank message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Groups Links > > __________ NOD32 3165 (20080606) Information __________ > > This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. > http://www.eset.com > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > >
