Quote:
Originally Posted by Luckrider
So, I ended up looking up the permits for NY and the federal one, and I am thinking of submitting an application with the Feds and State for an Alcohol Fuel License for the hahas of it. If I actually get one, I would then see about pushing to actually make the stuff myself.
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Ah, the old Top Gear adage: What could possibly go wrong?
I know that E85 is great for performance, but its days as a fuel are becoming numbered, at least as a "widely" available fuel source. While it has been around for a while, it was really pushed hard as an alternative fuel to gasoline back in the W days (still marketed as such), and initially, it was a lot cheaper. However, auto manufacturers were slow to catch up, and provide vehicles that were "Flex Fuel" from the factory. Also, the fact that cars are less efficient when using E85 (even with the power bump) scared away some customers.
Then the prices started to go up, and people started to find out that producing the so called "greener" fuel was almost as expensive (depending on grain prices) and did almost much damage to the environment (due to the energy used to distill the ethanol used in the process).
Now you see the final nail in the coffin being set up: Prices for E85, which was initially much cheaper than gasoline, is very close to regular prices for gasoline (still cheaper than premium, but the difference is becoming minimal). Unfortunately, if you put the now standard E10 next to E85 at the same price, people are going to go with the E10, simply because they get more mpg with the E10. And with corn prices continuing to rise, the price of E85 may soon spike as the OP was told.
I would love to be wrong on this, as E85 is a good fuel, even better than E0 or E10 in many cases, but the market is the market and would seem to be headed this way.