Paul Brand: - Minneapolis Star Tribune
The nonpolitical comment I will make — and have made in this column since ethanol was introduced into motor fuels in the 1980s — is this: Internal combustion engines prefer 100 percent gasoline. There’s a reason the industry ended up choosing gasoline as the primary motor fuel nearly 100 years ago, and that is energy content per unit. Modern technology, engineering and materials make today’s engines capable of operating on ethanol-blended fuels with reasonable efficiency and success. Fuel tanks and fuel systems, valves and valve seats, pistons and piston rings and other components of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) are designed to handle higher percentages of ethanol without issues. A fuel compensation sensor or discriminator identifies the gasoline/ethanol specific composition, allowing the PCM to adjust fuel flow and timing to properly burn the fuel. Ironically, many FFV owners are unaware their vehicle can operate on E85. And the energy and emissions associated with producing and burning each type of fuel continue to be hotly debated. Q: My car is a 1998 Nissan Sentra SE with almost. Source: www.startribune.com
