Motor Makers Wary of Ethanol Increase: 15% in Gasoline Could Do Damage, Some Say
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel -- March 11, 2009 -- An effort to raise the 10% limit on ethanol in motor fuel has misfired with engine-makers.PAID ADVERTISEMENT
Ethanol is a fuel additive made from corn. A U.S. Department of Energy study has shown that a 15% blend has no adverse effects on an automobile's performance, maintenance or emissions controls, according to Growth Energy, a coalition of ethanol producers.
Increasing the ethanol blend also is a common-sense solution to economic, energy and environmental challenges, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, Growth Energy's co-chairman, said in a statement. Increasing its use could create thousands of jobs in the biofuels industry, which has been hammered by overbuilding of ethanol refineries.
"If the EPA acts swiftly, a higher blend of ethanol will help us jump-start the economy while further reducing our dependence on foreign oil," Clark said.
But automakers and the makers of outdoor power equipment say that science has not yet shown whether higher levels of ethanol in gasoline are acceptable for engines.
Boat engines, chain saws, lawn mowers, snowmobiles, motorcycles, generators and other small-engine equipment could be permanently damaged from using a 15% ethanol blend, said Kris Kiser, executive director of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, which represents Wisconsin engine manufacturers Briggs & Stratton Co. and Kohler Co.
"We have very real concerns," Kiser said, including poor engine performance and overheating.
Of 28 engines tested by the Department of Energy using 15% ethanol, all had significant problems, he said.
Ford Motor Co. has said it would endorse a 15% ethanol blend, although others in the automotive industry aren't convinced that it wouldn't damage vehicle engine parts.
"We don't know what the cumulative effects are over thousands of miles," said John Cabaniss, energy and environment director for the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers.
'Flex-fuel' vehicles
The best way to increase ethanol use is through "flex-fuel" vehicles that can handle blends of up to 85% ethanol, according to automakers. Otherwise the blend shouldn't be increased without testing on all products.
"We aren't against the use of more ethanol as long as it's compatible with everything out there," Cabaniss said. "Consumers shouldn't have to go from gas station to gas station, checking the pumps for the type of fuel they need."
The EPA regulates fuel additives, including ethanol blends.
Some ethanol producers are pressing the agency for a quick decision on raising the limit to 15%, saying it would advance the use of renewable energy and would reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
About 20% of Wisconsin's corn crop has been destined for the fuel additive, which is significant considering the state didn't even have an ethanol plant eight years ago.
Raising the cap on an ethanol fuel blend would give consumers more choices, said Josh Morby, executive director of Wisconsin Bio Industry Alliance, an ethanol producers trade group.
"We aren't asking for a mandate or a requirement," he said.
Kohler Engine Products is developing flex-fuel engines that would be able to run on high blends of ethanol.
But the company said it would have to run many tests to see how the 15% and higher blends would affect other engines.
"There could be some engine components that would have to be changed," said Cam Litt, marketing manager for Kohler Engine Products in Kohler.
Outboard marine engines
Mercury Marine has designed its outboard marine engines to run on 10% ethanol but not higher blends, according to the Fond du Lac engine-maker.
"At this point, no tests regarding the use of these fuels in marine engines have been conducted, and very few tests have been conducted for non-marine engines," said Steve Fleming, Mercury Marine communications director.
A government mandate requires fuel companies to blend about 11 billion gallons of ethanol with gasoline this year. The fuel additive is subsidized by a federal tax credit, which blenders can keep or pass the savings on to consumers.
Ethanol producers say the current 10% content limit may make it difficult to achieve the federal mandate because the fuel additive isn't used much in some areas of the nation. They also say that even if the blend were increased, plenty of 10% ethanol blended gasoline would still be available.
To approve the request for 15% ethanol content, the EPA needs to determine whether it will affect emission control systems in vehicles. In a statement, the agency said it will review the request and will act based on the best available science.
Author: Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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