By J R Ruaya
E10?
This is the newest entry into the dictionary of Filipino motorists who have been groaning under the onslaught of ever escalating prices of gasoline. It stands for the newly introduced vehicle fuel which is 10% ethanol and 90 % gasoline, which is cheaper by about P2 a liter. On top of that, it is supposed to be friendlier to the environment that the usual gasoline, and has been introduced by virtue of the the mandate under the Biofuels Act of 2006.
There are actually tow major types of ethanol-gasoline blends. One, the low-level blend which consist of 5 to 10 % ethanol by volume is designed for existing motor vehicles and it is not much different than the gasoline in terms of function. The other one, the high level blend has ethanol content of 60-85 % ethanol, also referred to as E85 (or E60, as the case may be) is used in special factory produced vehicles called flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) which can use both the ethanol blend and conventional fuel. Intermediate blends with 20-40% ethanol are mulled, but are not designed for traditional four-wheeled road vehicles.
Why ethanol?
Ethanol, a common type of alcohol, is also the same chemical in alcoholic drinks. Its use as motor fuel was in fact considered during the early years of production of cars, but with the advent of cheaper gasoline from oil, its use was no longer found attractive.
Its present "rediscovery" was prompted largely by demands for a replacement of the "anti-knock" additive methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE) which had been discovered to cause contamination of ground water. MTBE, in turn was introduced to replace the heavy metal lead, the original anti-knock component in gasoline.
Economic issues
Aside from technical issues, social and political issues have arisen with increased ethanol production. Critics point out that production of ethanol, which uses mainly organic waste (e.g., bagasse) and food crops like corn, may sacrifice food production. No less than UN experts on food production have pointed out such very real possibility.
This has become an issue in the United States where corn farms have been converted to ethanol production. In Brazil, the leading ethanol user in its vehicles, ethanol production has been linked to exploitation of farm workers and the degradation of lush tropical forests in the Amazon basin.
Here in the Philippines, there have been accusations that some prominent land owners are trying to circumvent the agrarian reform law by converting their farms to ethanol production.
Another very important economic issue raised is whether its production would in fact generate more energy than the required input. Depending on which side of the fence you are in, the assumptions used and personal bias, the answer to the previous query is either yes or no.
Cal Hodge, an energy consultant based in Houston, Texas (the oil center of the U. S.) in an article published in the prestigious Oil and Gas Journal in September 2002, collated the available studies at that time and found out that range of results varies from a net loss of up to 20 % and net gain of up to 40 %. In order to make any sense to these studies, Hodge averaged their results assuming that the authors have done their best efforts in coming up with their conclusions and came up with with the value that only 92% of the energy expended in ethanol production is recovered. Meaning, it is likely that one in fact loses-- not gains--energy in producing ethanol.
These issues are valid and should be addressed by our lawmakers, policy makers and by any concerned citizen.
Environmental issues
Proponents of ethanol as fuel wax eloquent on purported environmental benefits of ethanol blends, but these benefits are probably overstated.
Because ethanol contains oxygen, it can be regarded as a partially oxidized hydrocarbon. On a per weight basis and using the same engine, an ethanol blend produces less carbon monoxide (CO), a deadly chemical poison found in vehicle exhausts. But at the same time, because of more efficient fuel burning, the same engine actually produces more carbon dioxide (CO2), the same gas that you exhale and also the same greenhouse gas (GHG) accused of primarily abetting man-made global warming, than pure gasoline.
In the local context though, CO production is more of a function of the state of the car system than on the fuel. Unmaintained engines (e.g., improperly tuned-up) usually generate more CO owing to incomplete fuel combustion, for example.
Ethanol burning has more nitrogen oxides (NOx), also a major environmental concern, than does MTBE, the compound displaced by ethanol. For E10, the increase in NOx was found to be statistically significant at 5 % more.
In advanced countries, ethanol blends pass ambient environmental standards not because of ethanol per se, but because of the catalytic converters in exhaust systems which render the nitrogen oxides innocuous. Here, it is doubtful if motorists pay much attention to the state of their catalytic converters, if their cars have them in the first place. Do public utility vehicles like jeepneys , FX and taxis which normally use the "dirtier" diesel have them?
Ethanol is completely miscible with water but not so with hydrocarbons, the main component of gasoline. So ethanol blenders will have to sacrifice easily burned low molecular weight components such as pentanes in favor of higher molecular components (e.g. benzenes). Unfortunately, the latter component releases more of the so-called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which many of these (e.g., aromatics like benzenes) are considered carcinogens (cancer-causing).
Production of VOCs is far worse in ethanol plants.
Needless to say, this would also increase NOx emission which negates the decrease in CO production.
Safe to use in your car?
Car manufacturers and proponents assure us that E10 blend is safe to use even without extensive modification of your car. It is claimed that the only cars not suitable for properly-blended ethanol gasoline mixtures are those cars manufactured earlier than 1970, and there are not many of those around.
There were many issues involved during the earlier introduction of ethanol blends, but these have been apparently resolved. For example, ethanol reacts with rubber, and can create jams in the fuel pipe. The rubber components in fuel pipes have been replaced by more expensive, but more ethanol resistant fluorocarbon rubber. However, most of the cars in our streets have been manufactured prior to the idea of using ethanol blends and it is likely that the use of fluorocarbon-based rubber is not as extensive as one might think.
As mentioned earlier, ethanol is completely miscible with water, so if even traces of water are introduced into the blend during the manufacture of ethanol, during blending, or even during transport, could cause corrosion in your engine or other car parts. Absolute, or water-free, ethanol is used in blended fuels, but one cannot be sure if the blenders of ethanol producers are zealously meticulous in their processes.
To use or not to use
The P2 discount per liter over the regular unleaded gasoline should be enough incentive to shift to E10. Using it for the sake of the environment is more like a leap of faith than a conclusion based on hard scientific data.
Let us not be intoxicated by overly eager pronouncement of the proponents of the blended fuel regarding saving the environment or saving dollars by avoiding crude oil imports. Due to scarcity of local ethanol, Petron is in fact importing ethanol from Brazil for the roll out of it blended fuel.
What is required is a continuing sober assessment of the issues involved, many of which have not been mentioned in this note.
About the only certainty in shifting to E10 is at least some of the alcohol is going into the tank, and not to the motorists' heads.
Let's drink to that!
No comments:
Post a Comment