THE uneasy relationship between America’s corn (maize) farmers and its oil refiners is fraying at the edges. The source of the conflict is the amount of corn-derived ethanol which has to be blended into petrol as an oxygenator, to boost the fuel’s octane rating (while also providing a generous off-budget subsidy for corn-growers). The farmers want the amount of ethanol used in petrol to be increased from 10% to 15% of each gallon sold at the pump. The distillers argue that diluting petrol with that amount of ethanol would damage engines and leave them liable to lawsuits from motorists and manufacturers alike.
Ethanol in such quantities can certainly damage engines that are not equipped to handle it—as few are. The problem is that, unlike the hydrocarbons of pure petrol, ethanol has a special affinity for water from the atmosphere. The entrapped moisture can corrode petrol tanks, pumps, fuel lines and injectors. Only 3.6% of vehicles on the road in America are certified to use fuel containing higher blends of ethanol like E15 and E85 (15% and 85% ethanol, respectively).
See full Article: http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2013/03/biofuels?fsrc=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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