Editing E85

==What is E85?== E85 is a fuel mixture that typically contains 85% denatured ethanol and 15% gasoline. Ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol) is the "alcohol" found in alcoholic beverages. "Denatured" means that it has been made toxic or undrinkable, often by adding methanol or denatonium, to give it a very bitter taste.. This minimizes the drug value of alcohol, and also allows it to avoid being subject to alcohol taxes. In the United States, ethanol is derived mainly from corn. There are about 1,000 or so gas stations in America selling E85 fuel. Most of them are located in the Midwest, where corn is a staple crop. ==E85 vs. Gasoline== E85 provides horsepower that is comparable to gasoline. It's octane rating is about 100 to 105. This means that it can be used in higher-compression engines, which could lower emissions. However, E85 gets about 25% fewer miles per gallon than regular gasoline, and it contains less energy per volume than gasoline. ==Benefits of E85== As a "renewable" energy source, E85 has the potential to offer decreased reliance on foreign energy. As it develops further, it may also be able to demonstrate decreased carbon emissions when compared to standard gasoline. ==Damage caused by using E85 in an engine== *Prolonged exposure to ethanol may corrode metal and rubber parts that are designed to be used with gasoline. *Use of fuel with more than 10% ethanol content will void most car manufacturers' warranties. *Water contamination of fuel is exacerbated by the presence of ethanol. *Air-fuel mixture problems (expand on this). ==Aftermarket ethanol conversion kits== Largely for safety reasons, US law prohibits the manufacture of most ethanol conversion kits, unless they are EPA certified. The certification process is too expensive and time-consuming to be considered a reasonable option for most consumers. ==References== *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85 *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85_in_the_United_States *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol *http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E85_in_standard_engines

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