What Happens When Ethanol Blended Fuel Mixes With Water
By the AMA
the ethanol to acetic acid”. This troubling study raises even more concern about ethanol in fuel, now that the EPA has publicly acknowledged that ethanol blends can damage internal combustion engines not designed for its use by increasing exhaust temperatures and indirectly causing component failures.
A
study involving several state environmental agencies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sought the answer to that question after a compliance inspector with the Petroleum Program in the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality noticed “odd corrosion reactions in some of the sumps” for the underground fuel tanks . The EPA “speculated that ethanol vapor that originated from the motor fuel was finding its way into water in the sumps, which would provide a source of food for the acetic acid bacteria. The study found that sump pumps containing water allowed the acetic acid bacteria to degrade the ethanol to acetic acid. The acetic acid would then cause corrosion of the pumps (See Figure 1). Conversely, “If moisture was not available, there would be no opportunity for bacteria to degrade
12 - Southern Biker Magazine
According to the EPA, "ethanol impacts motor vehicles in two primary ways. First ... ethanol enleans the air/fuel ratio (increases the proportion of oxygen relative to hydrocarbons) which can lead to increased exhaust gas temperatures and potentially increase incremental deterioration of emission control hardware and performance over time, possibly
causing catalyst failure. Second, ethanol can cause materials compatibility issues, which may lead to other component failures. "In motorcycles and nonroad products [using E15 and higher ethanol blends], EPA raised engine-failure concerns from overheating." This study
and EPA’s acknowledgement demonstrate that fuels containing high levels of ethanol can damage, not only engines, but also fueling station infrastructure. The American Motorcyclist Association opposes E15 fuel (15 percent ethanol by volume) because inadvertent misfueling can cause engine and fuel system failure to the estimated 22 million motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles currently in use and can void manufacturers' warranties. The AMA supports H.R. 1462. This bill would reduce the total RFS by 79 percent in 2014 and reduce the RFS by other significant percentages each year until 2022, when the total RFS is reduced by 42 percent. That is, the bill adjusts the mandate to 21 billion gallons in 2022, rather than 36 billion gallons. Moreover, H.R. 1462 rescinds the EPA’s E15 waivers and caps the amount of ethanol content in gasoline at E10. The AMA supports this common sense solution to make sure that motorcyclists have access to safe fuels.
June, 2014