Mar 30 2010
The use of E20 fuel, which is a blend of 20% ethanol with gasoline, in automobiles reduces the emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons when compared with E10 fuel or ordinary gasoline, according to a research by the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology. The performance of the vehicle with regard to its drivability or maintenance of the traditional internal combustion engines were also not affected by using this fuel, according to the study.
The potential environmental benefits derived from the use of E20 fuel is illustrated by the data in the study. This is significant since U.S. Department of Transportation and many states in the country are proposing policies that would increase the percentage of ethanol in standard gasoline.
Brian Hilton, a member of the research team and senior staff engineer at the center, said at present several brands of gasoline available in the country contain 10% of ethanol. He further refuted the concerns that any increase in ethanol percentage would impact the standard internal combustion engines negatively. The data from the study clearly shows that the use E20 fuel does not affect the performance of the vehicle while reducing the emissions of hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide even when compared with E10 fuel, Hilton said.
Brian Duddy, who is a senior program manager at the center, led the RIT team. The team in partnership with the Monroe County in New York tested the E20 fuel in ten old gasoline vehicles that were designed to operate only with standard gasoline and not with ethanol blended gasoline. The service vehicles were utilized for the test with E20 fuel. The vehicles were analyzed at regular intervals for both wear and tear as well as for emissions. The fleet of test vehicles demonstrated the reduction of carbon monoxide emissions of 23% and reduction of hydrocarbon emissions by 13% when compared to traditional gasoline.
Source: http://www.cims.rit.edu