Ethanol cars work in a way very similar to normal gasoline cars, and are a great viable alternative fuel option because of current high gas prices. The only real difference is that ethanol car engines are able to utilize the biofuel ethanol instead of oil based gasoline.
Ethanol fuel itself is extracted from plants such as corn or sugarcane, and refined into an alcohol. This alcohol is suitable to be used as a biofuel in cars and other vehicles. Most hybrid automobile engines that use ethanol can also use gasoline, and are also called "flex-fuel" engines. The ethanol is injected into the engine in the same way as a non-hybrid automobile engine. Though ethanol gives slightly less miles per gallon than gasoline, it doesn't create as much air pollution when it is burned.
The similarities between ethanol "flex-fuel" engines and standard engines make ethanol cars cheaper than most alternative or hybrid vehicles, because they are built in much the same way as a regular engine. Ethanol is actually cheaper in some cases than gasoline, and thus a hybrid that runs on ethanol can be less expensive to operate than a gasoline based vehicle.
Most standard automobiles can even run on a 10% mixture of ethanol in gasoline. Many gas stations around the world offer ethanol as an alternative to gasoline, and in some countries cars are required to run on ethanol.
You can find out more information about Hybrid Cars at ProHybrid.com along with video news, reviews, and tools such as price quotes and an automotive loan calculator.
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How Ethanol Car Engines Work
Converting Your Vehicles To Use E85 - Ethanol Fuel
I and many others have converted their gasoline car to run on E85 (ethanol fuel). This is a guide on how to do the same thing.
First of all, what is E85?:
E85 consists of 85% ethanol and 15% additives. The additives vary a lot depending on where you live and time of the year. But roughly, the 15% additives is mostly made up of gasoline, additives that helps the engine to make a complete burn, additives that helps the engine start when its cold and additives to color the fuel and the flame (so you know what substance it is, and also to help you see that it is really burning).
Facts about E85:
1. It is not corrosive to the fuel system or the engine. This is a myth and ethanol is often confused with methanol, which actually have corrosive properties. Some models before 1988 on the other hand may have some parts that is not ethanol resistant.
2. It is not as harmful to the environment as gasoline or any other petroleum products for that matter. Ethanol is made out of renewable energy resources such as crops and trees to name a few things. The carbon dioxide that an ethanol powered car emits is not contributing to the greenhouse effect, but is taken up by the plants and is being "re-used". The carbon dioxide then goes around in a closed loop. Gasoline on the other hand is made from oil that comes from old dinosaurs, plants and other stuff 100 000 of years ago, and it doesnt take part in the closed loop but only adds to the amount of greenhouse gasses. Ethanol is also easily bio-degradeable if it should leak into our environment.
3. E85 is 104-105 octane and therefore its more knock-resistent and can tolerate more boost or a higher CR.
4. E85 cools the intake charge more and therefore its more knock-resistent and can tolerate more boost or a higher CR. And it also makes the engine run cooler and to some degree, even safer.
5. E85 is in most cases at least 5% more effect than gasoline at the same lambda value (up to 25% more efficient on some cars optimized soley for E85).
6. Since E85 has very good cleaning properties as well as leaving behind a rest-product of water, it is cleaning the fuel system and it will keep the injectors nice and clean. The combustion chambers, valves, ports and the exhaust will also be clean(er), almost like the car had water injection.
7. In most cases it will cost less $/mile to run on E85.
2. Since cars running E85 requires roughly 30% more fuel, a tank of E85 will not get you as far as a tank of gasoline and you will have to refuel more often. This is often disregarded by E85 users who learn to live with it because of the economical gains.
And now: How to convert to E85
1. The advanced way, tuning and re-flashing the ECU to optimize it for E85.
Advantages:
* The car will be optimized for E85.
* It will be very fuel-efficient.
* More power at the same boost level.
2. An electronical device (piggyback device) that you plug in between the injector wires and the injectors. It will expand the injector pulsewidths by approximately 30% and it will have the possibility of both running on gasoline and E85 by flicking a switch.
Advantages:
* Easy to install and use.
* Has the capability of both gasoline and E85.
3. An adjustable fuel pressure regulator.
Advantages:
* The car ECU will adapt to the changes (if it is equipped with an O2-sensor).
* Can be used if you want to blend gasoline and E85. You will always have to keep track of the percentual blend of gas/E85 though. If you want to run a blend of gas/E85, for simplicity, decide a percentual blend and stick to it.
4. Bigger injectors.
Advantages:
* The car ECU will adapt to the changes (if it is equipped with an O2-sensor).
* Cheap (at least if you buy some used ones from a junk-yard or pick-n-pull).
Bioethanol: The Golden Fuel
With governments like the U.S. backing the bioethanol industry, biomass crop productions are growing. If CO2 emissions can be cut in half by growing and manufacturing conventional farm crops like corn, then bioethanol stands a good chance of becoming the soup du jour from the alternative fuel menu. Yet there are other complications like food price inflation due to increased food scarcity resulting from food being diverted energy creation. Of course one must first decide if bioethanol is really worth it in terms of its "green claims."
What is it, and is it clean enough?
Bioethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, is a non-fossil, high octane fuel with lower emissions than gasoline. Made from renewable agricultural sources, it is a clean fuel for internal combustion engines. Hydrous ethanol contains water and can be used as a gasoline substitute, but requires a modified engine. Dehydrated ethanol can be used in proportions of 5% (E5) to 85% (E85). Most cars today can use E5, and Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) use E85. Both can be blended with conventional fuel.
It does take energy to produce it, and there are concerns related to the large amount of land needed for crops. Another concern is whether such biofuels release more carbon dioxide into the air than can be absorbed by growing plants. A better solution might be a process currently being developed in the U.S., whereby trash like waste paper is broken down into sugar and then converted into ethanol. This would by pass many of the ethical, environmental, and financial issues connected to bioethanol production.
How do they make it?
Bioethanol is obtained through a manufacturing process of fermenting biomass, which contains sugar and starch. Sugar cane is used in tropical areas, primarily wheat in Europe, and corn is produced in the U.S. and Brazil. Rectification and distillation processes turn the biomass into a concentrated form and removes by-products that are no needed in the fuel itself. The negative side of bioethanol as mentioned above is it's use of fertile land for food, which drives the food prices up and locks up usable land to grow more foodstuffs. There has all been great concern amongst certain environmental groups about the waste products left over from manufacturing bioethanol as evidenced in bioethonal pollution finding it's way in to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi River. This of course provides a big argument from within the green fuel camp against bioethanol production and use. Despite it's negative aspects, when the issues have been worked like, which crop to use and where to grow it and of course what to do with the waste, bioethanol stands to be a very powerful clean fuel alternative. One hopes as the oil price continues to stay above 10 dollars that every means necessary is found to make bioethanol as efficient, clean, and financially attractive as possible.
Is your car a FFV?
Many FFV owners may not even know if their car is a FFV. Since most U.S. manufacturers, Japanese and European car manufacturers now produce FFVs, it may be worth checking to see if your car can use bioethanol - and where you can buy it.
Ethanol Power From Saab
Saab is continuing its drive to produce vehicles that runs on cleaner burning fuels. They have already made to the public a 9-5 BioPower which run on E85 fuel which is a combination of 85 percent bio-ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. This is similar to Volvo models which run on the same fuel. This may seem not enough for the car manufacturer since at the forthcoming 2007 Geneva Motor Show; they will be showcasing a 9-5 wagon which is equipped with a 2.0-liter engine that runs on E100 or 100 percent bio-ethanol. The concept car will be shown to the public as a testament of the car maker’s dedication to developing cleaner engines. The use of 100 percent fuel in an engine is a great stride forward in the use of alternative fuels.
In connection with the unveiling of the concept car, GM Powertrain CEO Kjell ac Bergstrom has this to say: “Bio-ethanol is a potent, high quality fuel which opens up exciting possibilities in helping to meet the environmental challenges that face us. As the need to reduce energy consumption increases, we are exploring ways to run smaller engines that give relatively high power, with and without hybrid technology. This concept car shows that ethanol can play a key role in this ‘right-sizing’ process, while also minimizing fossil fuel emissions.”
The Saab 9-5 BioPower 100 concept car’s engine is the first of its kind to run on pure ethanol. The design of the car’s engine components optimizes the capacity of the engine. The 2.0-liter engine can produce as much as 300 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. That torque is essential for acceleration, given that amount of pulling force; the concept car can be propelled to 60 miles per hour from a standstill in just 6.6 seconds. This acceleration is complemented by a high top speed; thanks to the 300 horsepower that the engine packs. Aside from this, aftermarket parts can be installed to decrease the drag and increase the traction of the wheels on road surfaces. Spoilers can be used to achieve this, just like those Volvos which use a Volvo spoiler to boost performance.
Using 100 percent ethanol or anhydrous ethanol as a fuel is a good alternative to gasoline. This is because ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline, reducing emissions by as much as 85 percent. This is why flexi-fuel vehicles or those that runs on a combination of gasoline and ethanol has cleaner emission than those that runs on gasoline alone. Those engines that use ethanol as fuel, just like the Saab concept car uses looks just like a conventional gasoline engine with just a few modifications. Some of these modifications are done to combat the corrosive nature of ethanol. Some engine components need to be fortified to take on the corrosiveness of this alternative fuel. Another reason why ethanol is a good alternative to gasoline is that it is a renewable source of energy. Ethanol comes from starch or sugar from a wide variety of crops like corn and sugarcane.
The only problem facing the development of ethanol as an alternative fuel is that in its production, fossil fuels are still used. This poses a question if the good effects of using ethanol as fuel for vehicles can upset the emission produced on the production of the said fuel. The concept car also remains to be seen if it is feasible to be mass produced since no filling station has yet to offer 100 percent ethanol. The future of this technology still remains to be seen depending on the way the public will accept it.
