<VV> Re: E-85

[airvair]

Frank,

You are so right about the sugar tariff. What is the hangup is the sugar
industry lobby in this country. I think we'd all be better off if they
sold their product to make E85, import Brazilian sugar, and eliminate
the corn ethanol subsidy. But then if somebody DOES get the
cellulous-based ethanol process fully productionized, maybe we'll bypass
cane E85 altogether, and have an even cheaper fuel.

You want to talk alternative energy Corvairs? You ought to ask Mike
McKeel about his dream of making a diesel Corvair engine. Talk about a
flight of fantasy! LOL

-Mark

Mark,
    If we REALLY want to get ethanol from sugar cane, why doesn't our
taxpayer- supported government ELIMINATE the 50+ cents
per gallon tariff on imported sugarcane based ethanol from Brazil????  
I strongly doubt if the Brazilians would use OUR money to
pay for flying OUR planes into OUR skyscrapers as our Saudi "friends"
have done!!
    I agree with you on the economics of cellulosic ethanol.  We just
gotta get those enzymes working well enough to make the
conversion process commercial.
    I'll bet running our Corvairs on E-85 would solve a lot of
overheating AND pinging/detonation problems.  Reminds me that Saab
produced a prototype turbocharged flex-fuel engine that was designed to
run on either gasoline OR E-85, OR anything in between. 
While on gasoline, the turbo boost was limited to only about 6 psig, but
the computer allowed 14 psig of boost when the sensor
detected that E-85 was being used, thereby taking full advantage of the
much higher octane rating of the ethanol.
    Now THAT'S what I call "flexibility"!!!
    Frank Burkhard 
 
In a message dated 6/24/2007 11:57:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
airvair at richnet.net writes:

       As far as the E85 goes, if it comes from corn, you are, in the
end,
       wasting as much if not more petroleum than you are saving. Plus,
it has
       to be 20% cheaper than the same amount of gas before it's
economical to
       your pocket, because that's about how much less milage you'll
get. Then
       there's the matter of the government (can we say "taxpayer"?)
subsidy.
       Hummmm.... Now if the E85 comes from sugar cane or switchgrass,
THEN
       you'd be talking.....

       -Mark