Environment & Energy

Let's dissect. First, consider the source. Jalopnik is a nostalgic American automotive news and culture website that tends to focuse on internal combustion cars, car culture, and the automotive industry.

Next. Is ethanol harmful to engines. No. There is no property in ethanol that makes it harmful for "engines." Quite the contrary. Spark ignition 4-stroke engines will actually run cooler and last longer running E10 ethanol based gasoline, especially those that have electronic controlled (ECU) programmed fuel injection. However, higher levels of ethanol in the 15% - 85% require "fuel systems" made for such exotic ethanol flex-fuel ratios. Thus, if your vehicle's owner's manual says it was designed and warranted to use gasoline with up to 10% ethanol, that's what you should use. If your vehicle is flex-fuel, it can run on 85% denatured ethanol blends and anything in between. And again, higher levels of ethanol will promote your vehicles longevity over running conventional ethanol-free gasoline.

In 1977 the FCAA established “substantially similar gasoline,” oxygenates must be approved prior to use in gasoline by the U.S. EPA. This was to standardize gasoline across the U.S. The term "oxygenates" does not refer exclusively to ethanol, because there are many oxygenates that could be blended with gasoline, namely the one most of us know about call MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether).

This A.I. (?) generated article seems to imply that E10 gasoline has been sold since the 1978 10% ethanol WAIVER. But for those who thought that, that wasn't the case. There was no supply chain for ethanol back then. The waiver was a continuation of the 1977 standardization of gasoline, setting the structure for what was allowed for retail sale moving forward. For instance, in 1981 11% MTBE guidelines were set as the limit for such gasoline blends. That ratio is no coincidence either. 11% MTBE results in a fuel oxygen level or 2.0%, which would become a future guideline in the 1990 FCAA.

In 1988 15% MTBE was permitted, resulting in 2.7% fuel oxygen, also set in the 1990 FCAA in regards to Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSA), which were generally valleys or basins with higher levels of CO (Carbon Monoxide) levels.

A.I. may have had difficulty finding such information for the JALOPNIK article.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, other than boutique outlets in Iowa and elsewhere, that blended ethanol into gasoline, E10 gasohol that included UP-TO 10% ethanol as we know it, wasn't in supply chains until the early 2000s. Prior to that, oxygenated E10 gasoline used ethers; MTBE, ETBE, and TAME. Ether oxygenates are all non-natural toxic substances...but you rarely hear any articles pointing that out!!

So let's move on. E10 with ethanol, was the original boogieman that the petroleum industry went after, using fear tactics identical to this A.I. (?) written article by JALOPNIK? I say A.I. written article, because it follows the exact same pattern as those written 10, 20, 30 years ago, and even recently for the UK. FYI, in the UK, while E10 was allowed for retail sale there since 2013, it wasn't distributed to retailers until September 2021. 2021! That's nearly two decades after California refineries actually used ethanol in their CaRFG3 gasoline. So, misinformation articles in the UK were prevalent there too, until everyone just accepted that E10 was not bad for their "engines," but actually good for their internal combustion engines. Oops!

That's right, E10 ethanol runs cooler AND cleaner in your gasoline powered engine than the old non-oxygenated conventional gasoline. You may have heard of that stuff, it's called ethanol-free gasoline aka E0. Whereas E0 promotes water corrosion, ethanol cleans gasoline hydrocarbon deposits and dries fuel systems of corrosive water. That's due to ethanol's chemical hydrophilic properties, meaning it can absorb the small amount of corrosive water in vehicle fuel systems and transport that water through the combustion process, safely through the engine, while also protecting fuel system metals from water. The part about ethanol extracting water moisture, humidity, from the air is ridiculous. Ethanol is poorly hygroscopic, unable to interact well with humid air, but greatly hydrophilic, readily able to absorb liquid water.

The nonsense about small engines follows this same fear tactic that's mostly untrue, as well. Ethanol based E10 gasoline does the same for small 4-stroke engines as well, removing metal oxidizing water. But get this, because E10 has oxygen in it, carbureted engines at higher altitudes benefit from its use in another way, more power, not just cleaner emissions and drier fuel systems. That's because ethanol brings an oxygen atom to the combustion party. So, at higher altitudes where air density and oxygen levels are lower, these small carbureted engines don't lose as much top-end power as those running the much more expensive ethanol-free E0 gasoline. The e10 running engines produce more power and run cleaner, outperforming and outlasting ones where their owners intentionally handicapped them with ethanol-free E0.

So, what is this story going on about E15 being harmful to engines and voiding warranties? Free yourself from the fearmongers, check your vehicle owner's manual. It will state what levels of fuel oxygenates are allowed. And yes, most carbureted engines will have E10 stamped on their fuel caps. The reason has less to do with E15 being harmful to the engine, it has to do with the fact that carbureted engines cannot regulate fuel ratios, they are passive fuel metering devices. Thus if you add oxygen to the fuel tank, by going from E10 to E15, the result will be higher oxygen levels coming out of the exhaust, from leaner mixtures. The cure then would be to rejet the carburetor with a fuel jet one size bigger.

Bottom line. If you fear E15 gasoline or those that may contain more than 10% ethanol, then free yourself of the petroleum industry. Buy electric.

FYI, California does not require the use of ethanol in gasoline. It regulates the use of fuel oxygenates.