GeorgeMo

The Case Against Ethanol

bar310 > I think you're misuing the phrase "coal gassification". You're talking about "coal liquification" (where coal is turned into synthetic gasoline). Gassification is a process where superheated steam is injected into the burn cycle at coal power plants in an effort to increase efficiency. It's a common mistake though.

About the article, I'd like to see some citations for the numbers. "Ethanol is 20% less efficient than gasoline"? What does that even mean? If the author is referring to the lower energy density of ethanol, then Mr. Smicklas needs to be more clear and get his numbers right. A gallon of Ethanol has only 66% of the BTUs of a gallon of 88 octane gasoline in the lab environment, but the reduction of knock can yield better real world performance.

A study by the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center and the Minnesota Center for Automotive Research suggests that ethanol can actually improve performance. In limited trials, they found that a mix of 20% or 30% ethanol boosted mileage on some E85 test vehicles.