[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > What I don't get about ethanol is, if it's about a > domestically-produced fuel/fuel independence thing, why go E85? > > From what I hear, in Brazil, a lot of the cars can run on 100% ethanol, > so if we get a miracle that lets us crank up ethanol production without > starving the world, we can cut the petroleum industry much more out of > the loop. > > Of course, at the end of the day, individual transportation, no matter > what its form, is always inefficient. Give me a 2,000 horsepower > locomotive pulling a commuter train with 500 passengers, over 500 > individual cars. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Mike Garfias <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: Main PLUG discussion list <[email protected]> > Sent: Wed, 7 May 2008 6:19 pm > Subject: Re: House Passes PRO IP Bill > > > > > > > > > > > > On May 7, 2008, at 5:18 PM, Craig White wrote: > >> ---- >> and it looks like we got a choice between 2 candidates who want to >> double down on the ethanol solution. >> > > As a car guy, I _LOVE_ ethanol. 106 octane means being able to run > 13:1 compression on the street. However, the idea of making it from > corn is a stupid one. If I was a politician running for office, the > artificial constraint of a needed grain (wheat/corn) looks awfully > attractive. The US is the dominant supplier of these grains, and if > we keep the supplies artificially low, then we've brokered a position > of power in the new food economy. > > I don't know if our morons running for office can think that far > ahead, but if they can, I'm sure they're thinking about this. > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - [email protected] > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - [email protected] > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > I, too, think ethanol is a remarkable fuel for racing. It burns cool, it allows very high compression ratios, and it produces very high specific outputs for a given capacity engine.
BUT, it contains about one fourth as many calories as gasoline, pound for pound. This means that to reach a certain power output, the engine needs four times as much ethanol. One author I read stated that there just isn't enough arable land in the world to support our energy habit on an ethanol economy and still allow us to eat. Bob Eaton --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
