Bioethanol fuel is mainly produced by the sugar fermentation process, although it can also be manufactured by the chemical process of reacting ethylene with steam. The main sources of sugar required to produce ethanol come from fuel or energy crops.

Bioethanol produced from lignocellulosic biomass serves as an alternative promising carbon neutral biofuel. Advantages of bioethanol as a biofuel include high octane number (108), low boiling point, higher heat of vaporization, and comparable energy content [12].

Bioethanol fuel is mainly produced by the sugar fermentation process, although it can also be manufactured by the chemical process of reacting ethylene with steam. Ethanol burns to produce carbon dioxide and water. Ethanol is a high octane fuel and has replaced lead as an octane enhancer in petrol.

Biodiesel also releases less air pollutants per net energy gain than ethanol. These advantages of biodiesel over ethanol come from lower agricultural inputs and more efficient conversion of feedstocks to fuel. Neither biofuel can replace much petroleum without impacting food supplies.

Drawbacks of bioethanol include: The amount of arable land needed to grow the crops in order to produce a large amount of fuel is immense. This could greatly impact the biodiversity of our environment as we could see natural habitats being overrun, including forests.

Types of Ethanol Damage Ethanol can cause several types of damage to the engine in your vehicle. Your vehicle’s fuel intake components can be damaged. In addition, ethanol can cause damage to the fuel pump in your vehicle. Your engine can actually be destroyed if the ethanol content in the fuel you use is too high.

For our top pick, we chose Star Tron’s Enzyme Fuel Treatment. This additive has unique enzyme technology that is specially designed to work great for both your daily driver or a vehicle you keep stored for months at a time. It’s used to stop ethanol fuel problems and prevent phase separation.

No. All gasoline brands have both pure and ethanol-containing gasoline under the same brand names. For example, Shell V-Power ranges from 91 to 93 octane both with and without added ethanol. It just varies from station to station, and it’s up to the station owner whether or not to sell pure gas.

Ethanol will start to absorb water over time, leading to poor engine performance. E10 gas absorbs up to 50 times more water than standard gasoline. Simply put, it will dissolve plastic, rubber, fiberglass and much more, potentially causing serious problems to small engines.

The only way to prevent ethanol’s potentially damaging effects on an engine’s internal components, Rassel says, is by using an ethanol-free fuel source. These canned fuels contain zero ethanol and are made by most small-engine manufacturers.

It’s best to use ethanol-free gas in small engines. If you do decide to use ethanol, don’t use a fuel that is more than 10% ethanol (E10), and be sure to add fuel treatment to prevent the fuel from separating.

“Ethanol has inherent properties that can cause corrosion of metal parts, including carburetors, degradation of plastic and rubber components, harder starting, and reduced engine life,” says Marv Klowak, global vice president of research and development for Briggs & Stratton, the largest manufacturer of small engines.

Unfortunately, running vintage cars on contemporary gasoline containing ethanol can create problems for classic car owners. Most of these cars run best on pure gasoline, not gasoline treated with ethanol. As bad as E10 is for today’s cars, ethanol fuel problems are worse for collector cars.

Ethanol blends can corrode your carburetor, fuel tank, and other fuel system components and damage engine seals and O-rings, according to industry experts. And that means costly repairs at the very least–and engine damage at worst.

When left untreated, the ethanol blended into most gas can damage 2 cycle engines. In this FAQ, Toley McGettigan, Horizon’s National Sales Manager for Power Equipment, describes the problems ethanol causes over time and offers a simple solution that can keep the engine in your 2 cycle power equipment running properly.

Premium fuel is not only better for your equipment—it’s better for the environment, too. High-octane gas and high-quality, synthetic oil are odor-free and burn cleanly, so you can operate your two-stroke equipment worry-free.

The easiest way to prevent ethanol damage is to simply avoid gasoline that contains an ethanol mixture. Always check at the pump to make sure that the fuel you are using is ethanol-free, or at the very least, contains 10 percent ethanol or less (the maximum safe ratio for newer 2 stroke engines).

According to Dan McTeague, a noted petroleum analyst, Shell and Esso 91 are both ethanol free. Don’t be misled into thinking higher octane gas contains less ethanol. In fact, it has more! The octane rating of pure ethanol is 100, but when it’s blended with gasoline, it performs as if it’s 112.

Sunoco Optima is an unleaded fuel blended from highly-refined hydrocarbon blendstocks. Optima does not contain ethanol or MTBE and is oxygenate-free.

Each year, the laws require that the number of gallons of blended gasoline increase. As a result, pipelines are sending refineries sub-octane gas that needs ethanol or premium gasoline blended with it before it goes on sale. As refineries start to cut this amount of pure gas, it is becoming scarcer and more expensive.

E85 has an octane rating higher than that of regular gasoline’s typical rating of 87, or premium gasoline’s 91-93. This allows it to be used in higher-compression engines, which tend to produce more power per unit of displacement than their gasoline counterparts.

The E85 boosts the engine’s horsepower because of two factors: its amazing octane rating and cooling capacity. The octane rating indicates a fuel’s power to withstand denotation or knock. E85’s octane rating is 105, but it provides even better performance because of the cooling capacity. …

Running E85 on older model engines without tuning and replacing some components will ruin the engine in short time. Replacing fuel hoses, fuel pumps, gaskets, seals, fuel filters, fuel injectors, throttle bodies, etc.

Ethanol and Small Engines One of the issues with ethanol is that it attracts water and it does break down faster than gasoline. This is not much of an issue with transportation vehicles.

E85 gas is suitable for use in any vehicle designated as a flex-fuel vehicle by the manufacturer. Cars.com reports that flex-fuel vehicles are capable of running on both ethanol-gasoline blends and regular gasoline.

Many flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) can use both E85 and unleaded gas without any problems, but if you accidentally fill your non-FFV with E85, you could be in for an issue. If you’re still filling up at the pump and realize your mistake, you can top off the rest of your tank with regular gas.

So if you’ve accidentally put E85 into your gas car, top it up with regular gas a few times and ride it out.

The higher octane gives premium gas greater resistance to early fuel ignition, which can result in potential damage, sometimes accompanied by audible engine knocking or pinging. If you use premium fuel because your engine knocks on regular, you are treating the symptom, not the cause.

Running E15 gasoline in a car that is not approved for it could cause engine problems. Independent research by AAA’s auto engineers also finds that using E15 in new and older cars could cause damage to the fuel system, speed up engine wear and cause the “check engine” light to illuminate.

Starting the engine when you’ve got mixed fuel in the tank can cause permanent damage to your engine that costs a lot to repair. Putting petrol into a diesel tank causes more damage than vice versa.