Decreased fuel economy

**ghosthunter** · February 28th, 2012 11:59 PM

Originally Posted by restituto

Got an opinion from the consultant of one of the big gas company:

You are very right in your observation - decrease in fuel economy. E10 tends to be more volatile and has less heat content than the conventional gasoline. On the other positive outlook, ethanol burns more readily and has cleaner combustion property, thus, would produce less air pollutant (i.e. helps in keeping a cleaner environment). As per the Biofuels Act of 2006, biofuels (such as bioethanol ) are considered renewable & using such would lessen our dependence on imported fossil fuels and help boost the productivity of local farmers.

Lessen our dependence on imported fuels? Who said so? 99% of the ethanol used to make E10 gasoline is imported from abroad.

If we burn 10% more E10 gasoline to travel the same distance, how does that equate to cleaner air? It just means you are burning 10% the fuel you would need to cover the same distance as compared to regular unleaded gasoline. Assuming we are using 1 liter of regular gasoline, you would need 1.1 liters of E10 to go the same distance. So if you get 90% of 1.1 liters... that is 0.99 liters, which is the equivalent volume of regular gasoline you are burning. The 0.11 liters is the amount of ethanol. Where is the savings? Where is the supposed cleaner air if we are just burning 99% (plus 11% more in ethanol) of the fuel to go the same distance? Think about it... we are just ending up paying 10% more in our fuel bills. In the end, we are just making the oil companies and tax collectors happy.

The bio-fuels law was made in 2006. It's 2012. Six years later, we are still importing 99% of the ethanol we use as fuel. Note: expensive fuel that gives less fuel mileage in our cars.

Do the math. If ethanol is more expensive than gasoline and if you mix ethanol in gasoline to make E10, that means E10 is a more expensive product to use. So why is E10 not sold more expensive at the pump? Government subsidies. Yet you have to remember, all that money comes from our taxes and if we are just subsidizing the cost of fuel, it's just like burning money.

So where is that miracle plant they said would be used to produce bio-ethanol? Nowhere because it requires just as much water, care and good farmland to grow properly. So at the end of it all, it will be a matter of farmland for food or fuel. If you use more farmland to grow fuel-crops, fuel prices will go higher because of limited supply vs demand.

We are all screwed by the bio-fuels law.

**zap.FREEDOM** · February 29th, 2012 09:32 AM

that's why I'm wondering why does my gas gauge rapidly drop its needle to Empty Level everytime I drive it with the same distance unlike those recent years, my 300 pesos worth of fuel can take me 20kms++ with still have a reserve when I got home, but now 300php ko saktuhan na lang,

nowadays, is there some gas station who still sell a pure unleaded fuel?

**ghosthunter** · February 29th, 2012 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by zap.FREEDOM

that's why I'm wondering why does my gas gauge rapidly drop its needle to Empty Level everytime I drive it with the same distance unlike those recent years, my 300 pesos worth of fuel can take me 20kms++ with still have a reserve when I got home, but now 300php ko saktuhan na lang,

nowadays, is there some gas station who still sell a pure unleaded fuel?

Unfortunately the only supply of unleaded gasoline is for the high octane variants of Petron, Total, etc.