Today in Biofuels Opinion: “Anhydrous ethanol was not designed as a fuel”

Bobby Fontaine in cannazine: “There are two types of ethanol – anhydrous and hydrous. Brazil has used hydrous ethanol. We use anhydrous ethanol. Anhydrous ethanol was not designed as a fuel. It was legislated as an oxygenate in the Clean Air Act of 1990. It doesn’t burn well in most engines and wasn’t designed to. The EPA and Energy Department both claim it has a lesser energy value of about a third of that compared to gasoline. But what they are saying about energy values is irrelevant to mileage. Hydrous ethanol burns at a different compression ratio than gasoline so they have either installed ethanol converter kits on their vehicles or drive vehicles with higher compression ratio engines.

Merritt Cluff, co-author, FAO report on biofuels: “We are very worried about biofuel policy. US government incentives for ethanol producers are distorting the market.”

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