Dealcoholization of contaminated gasoline could be a growth industry

Implications: Kate Galbraith in Oklahoma City reported in the July 26-27 issue of the International Herald Tribune that a mutiny is growing against U.S. energy policies that support ethanol as a transportation fuel. Consumers complain that ethanol reduces engine efficiency. Gasoline stations are catering to concerns about the negative image of ethanol. Use of ethanol was common in Midwestern states for a decade and is now spreading to other parts of the nation. The expansion is caused by U.S. policies to reduce gasoline consumption. The most common blend, E10, is 90% gasoline and 10% alcohol. Its usage results in a 2% reduction in gasoline mileage. But users say that in fact, mileage drops by 8-10%. But the fuel makes boat engines sputter and hard to start. The problems are related to carburetion, fuel lines and pumps. The key negative property of alcohol is that it attracts water. Ethanol producers stand strongly behind their products and tout it on their Web site.

Analysis:  The drier the climate, the better it is for alcohol-laced gasoline. Pure alcohol is notoriously hygroscopic. It pulls water out of the atmosphere and in so doing, dilutes itself. When mixed into gasoline, everything is fine until water vapor from high humidity air begins to dissolve in the alcoholic component of the mixture. At some small percentage of water, the gasoline/alcohol mixture begins to separate with free water falling out and dropping to the bottom of the tank near the inlet to the tubing that goes to the carburetor of the engine. The tubing, filled with good fuel, then allows the motor to start fine. But as the water is drawn up, the sputtering begins and shortly the engine dies. It is easy to understand why the problems are more severe in boat engine because they are always in a high humidity environment. The same is true for coastal states where the temperature is warm the year around. Moderate to high temperature in a watery region leads to high humidity and thus rapid contamination of the fuel mixture. Another problem which has not yet emerged but will shortly is that seawater vapor has a salt component. The salt is corrosive. People who live near the seaside in resort areas can see for themselves the damage done by humid, salty air to metallic grid fencing, sign posts, fire hydrants and other fixtures that are exposed all year. In due course, severe corrosion of fuel lines, pumps and carburetor components will appear in automobile engines. Good business for mechanics but headaches for consumers. Consequently, as more and more of the E10 fuel is sold in humid areas, the stage will be set for entrepreneurs to distill the gasoline out of the mixture. The alcohol can then be sold as a disinfectant and the gasoline can be rebranded as E10-10.