Ethanol Vs Gasoline Essay

Both gasoline and ethanol have been around since the time of Henry Ford. Gasoline has been the more accessible of all of them. Ethanol and natural gas have been gaining more support over the years and now gasoline contains ten percent ethanol. Propane is mostly used in fleet vehicles. Cars today can run on gasoline with a little ethanol, but too much ethanol can severely damage a vehicle. Only flex fuel vehicles can handle more than ten percent ethanol in a system. Natural gas vehicles are starting to come onto the market. All three fuels have their pros and cons, but the ultimate decision is up to the consumer.

Ethanol is a clean, renewable fuel made from plant material. Ethanol is cleaner than gasoline because it contains more oxygen. The added oxygen increases ethanol's octane rating. The octane rating is the fuel's ability to resist “knock”. Ethanol has a higher octane rating than gasoline. Ethanol above fifteen percent can damage vehicles that are designed to run on gasoline. An ethanol/gasoline (E10) blend is cheaper than just gasoline. The blend does reduce fuel economy by up to 3.3 percent. Car companies have started to produce flex-fuel vehicles. These flex-fuel vehicles can run on fuel with up to 85 percent ethanol. The main problem is

that the infrastructure for these cars are not reaching everyone. For example, there are only six public stations that have E85 around South Bend, Indiana. Ethanol does reduce emissions, but has some drawbacks.
Propane is the lesser known alternative fuel.

Propane can also reduce emissions. There are two types of propane vehicles on the road today, dedicated and bi- fuel. Dedicated is that the vehicles runs solely on propane. Bi-fuel is that the car can run on propane or gasoline. Bi-fuel is a good idea because if the car runs out of propane it can still run on gasoline. The driver does not have to worry about not finding a propane station with a bi-fuel propane vehicle. According to sumanauto.com propane vehicles are very safe. Just like in gasoline vehicles, propane vehicles have shut off valves and the propane tanks are well made. Propane is a safe and green alternative to gasoline powered

cars.
Natural gas is a renewable fuel and is clean burning. There are two types of natural gas used in vehicles. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) which is good for fleets that work within a specific work area and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) which is good for long distance trips. The main drawback from natural gas is the lack of infrastructure. For example, there is one public station close to South Bend, Indiana. South Bend has bought natural gas buses, but they have to build a natural gas station to fuel those buses. Natural gas would be a good alternative, but there has to be more public stations.
Alternative fuels are starting to gain support. The biggest problem for the alternative fuels is the lack of places to fill up. The gasoline driven car is not going anywhere for right now, but people should start thinking about the environment. There are other options that people should consider. Natural gas and ethanol are cleaner and cheaper compared to gasoline. These renewable resources can work if people can get behind the idea. More cities are switching to flex-fuel or natural gas vehicles for their public transportation and individuals should do the same.