Ethanol gasoline must be popularized throughout the country, so the media have invited experts from all walks of life to interpret the various benefits of ethanol gasoline. This kind of "alcohol-rich" gasoline is not new. Northeast China, Hebei, Shandong, and Jiangsu have been used for many years. The main problem that car owners report is that they are "not as good as gasoline-resistant."

How much fuel consumption will ethanol gasoline increase?
In television news programs, both the owners and experts interviewed have said that ethanol gasoline will not increase fuel consumption compared with regular gasoline; there are also car owners who have been interviewed firmly to say: using ethanol and gasoline is even more important than regular gasoline.

Is ethanol gas gasoline "resistant to burning" in the end? Different owners have different opinions

This is inconsistent with the actual experience of some car owners, because many car owners feel that they are not as good as petrol, and they are not as good as petrol. With the same amount of oil, the mileage of running ethanol gas is obviously less. China’s experts have made such statements, and I also quote some professional views from the United States. We can look at them in contrast.

Domestic experts tend to believe that using ethanol gasoline will not increase fuel consumption

The United States began promoting E10 ethanol gasoline in 1979 and is now widely used in the United States. Since 2010, the United States has begun to promote E15 gasoline with a higher proportion of ethanol. The so-called E10 gasoline, the letter "E" represents ethanol, the latter number represents the proportion of ethanol added to gasoline, such as E10 is added to 10% of the ethanol, E15 is added to 15% of the ethanol - China is currently promoting the E10 gasoline.

Regarding the economical nature of ethanol gasoline, the US Department of Energy's official website explained that the energy contained in gallons of ethanol is less than the energy contained in gasoline per gallon. Therefore, when using ethanol gasoline in automobiles, the fuel economy will decline. The official explanation of Shell Gas Company on ethanol gasoline also explicitly mentions that: As ethanol contains lower energy than gasoline, gasoline supplemented with ethanol will have a corresponding decrease in energy.

On the website of the US Department of Energy, it is mentioned that the fuel economy of ethanol gasoline will be reduced

How much is the decrease? According to the official website of the American Petroleum Institute (API), the energy contained in ethanol is 33% less than that in gasoline. In E10 gasoline, 10% ethanol is added, and the fuel consumption will increase by about 3%. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Automobile Association (AAA), the fuel consumption of the E10 gasoline is 3% to 4% higher than that of the conventional gasoline; according to the heads of the engine departments of automakers such as Toyota and Ford, etc. , fuel consumption increased by about 3%.

According to U.S. media reports, many American owners also feel that using E10 gasoline will significantly increase fuel consumption. Some owners even complain that increased fuel consumption can reach 6% to 10%. However, according to media analysis, this may be due to the fact that the methods used by vehicle owners when measuring their own fuel consumption are relatively inaccurate.

In E10 gasoline, only 10% of ethanol is added. Even if the ethanol caloric value is lower than gasoline (about 33% lower), the increase in fuel consumption with E10 gasoline will never reach 10%. The fuel consumption increase of 3% to 4% should be more reliable, roughly calculation, the original 100 km fuel consumption of 7 liters, after the oil increased to 7.2 liters; the original 100 km fuel consumption of 10 liters, after the oil increased to 10.3 liters - - Probably such an account.

Can ethanol gasoline hurt the car?
Ethanol added to gasoline may indeed have some adverse effects on automobiles. On the one hand, it is because ethanol has a certain corrosive effect on rubber, plastics, and even some metals; on the other hand, it is because ethanol is "hydrophilic" and absorbs it. Moisture.

Let me talk about the corrosive effect of ethanol. There are many rubber and plastic parts and some rubber seals in the fuel tank, oil pump, oil supply pipeline and fuel injection device of the automobile. Ethanol forms an acidic substance and may corrode these parts. However, most cars have been optimized for ethanol gasoline, and the relevant components have been treated with anti-corrosion treatment, which can be adapted to E10 gasoline.

If you feel uneasy, you can read the user manual of your car. In the description of the fuel section, as long as there is a saying that “you can add up to 10% ethanol, that is, E10 fuel”, you can rest assured that Use E10 ethanol gasoline.

What is the meaning of allowing the use of gasoline with "up to 10%" of ethanol? That is, if the ethanol content exceeds 10%, it may have an adverse effect on the car. There is a need to mention the past in the United States. In 2010, the US Environmental Protection Agency began to promote E15 gasoline with higher ethanol content. In the following year, manufacturers such as General Motors, Chrysler, and Toyota began to publicly criticize this practice, considering that E15 gasoline may have an impact on automobile engines. Potential damage to the fuel system as they are not designed for E15 gasoline.

Therefore, we discuss whether domestic use of E10 gasoline can be assured, provided that the proportion of ethanol in our gasoline is strictly based on standards. If everyone is concerned about the problem of ethanol addition, it is best to choose a regular gas station to refuel.

Look at the side effects of ethanol "hydrophilic." Ethanol "absorbs" and "stores" moisture, which is a bit trickier for gasoline. When the moisture content of gasoline does not exceed 0.6%, the water is in a dissolved state and mixed with gasoline. Once saturated, the water and ethanol will run out and sink to the bottom of the tank to allow the gasoline to form oil and water. Stratification. When there is a lot of water accumulation, if there is less oil in the fuel tank, this kind of “parallel petrol” will be pumped away by the oil pump and sent to the engine to participate in the combustion, while the engine will be turned off. Causes mechanical failure.
However, everyone does not have to worry about it. This is only a possibility, and the probability of such failure is not high.

What are the benefits of ethanol gasoline?
The reason why Chinese experts think that fuel consumption will not increase significantly is based on the fact that the octane number of ethanol is relatively high. Adding gasoline will increase the octane number of gasoline. In other words, it is to increase the gasoline label and enhance the antiknock property of gasoline. According to experts, the use of gasoline with strong anti-knock will also improve fuel economy.

This statement is suspicious. The octane number of ethanol is indeed higher. After adding 10% of ethanol, the octane number of E10 gasoline in the US market will increase by 2 to 3, for example, Shell’s E10 gasoline number will reach at least 95 (which is roughly equivalent to China’s Number 98). The current "national five" E10 gasoline numbers in the Chinese market are still No. 92 and No. 95. Is the "two barrels of oil" intended to lower the label and the actual label will be higher? (Do you think there is such a possibility?)

â–² E95 gasoline, will the actual label be 98?

Secondly, every car's engine has a suitable gasoline number. Many authoritative organizations and the media have a positive conclusion: The addition of higher-than-recommended gasoline will not improve fuel economy. (See my other article, "Most vehicles plus gasoline No. 95 is a waste, and there is a consensus among authoritative media in the United States." The reply to the keyword “gasoline” in the public number can be read directly)

Therefore, ethanol can improve the labeling of gasoline, but this benefit may only be beneficial to gasoline producers. It does not matter to owners.

In addition, according to domestic media reports, ethanol is a good organic solvent, ethanol gasoline can clean up the internal carbon accumulation in the oil circuit and the engine. Regarding the former, when Hebei and other regions switched to ethanol gas, it was true that the accumulated dirt in the oil circuit had been cleared and caused engine failure. This argument should be justified; as for the ability to clean up the carbon deposit inside the engine. We did not see relevant authoritative conclusions and could not be evaluated.

There is some controversy as to whether the use of ethanol gasoline can reduce carbon emissions. At present, the biggest benefit of promoting the use of ethanol gasoline is that it can reduce dependence on foreign oil and increase energy security.