I had always thought that using Ethanol in our gasoline was a profoundly stupid idea. It seems that President Trump feels the same way. From Eric Peters Autos:
The Corn Lobby vs. Orange Man
The corn lobby – which benignly styles itself The National Corn Growers Association – is upset with the Orange Man for – as CNN puts it – “reducing demand” for its crops.
What he’s actually done is reduce the mandate for them by granting waivers to refineries which would otherwise by forced by a federal law called the Renewable Fuels Standard or RFS to douse the gas they make with ethanol – which is made (in the United States) using mostly . . . corn.
Almost all of the “gas” sold in the United States actually contains 10 percent ethanol (E10) because of the regs that require, not because American motorists want it. If they did want it, there would be no need for the mandate.
Ethanol is a less efficient fuel - fewer calories per gallon so substituting it for gasoline lowers your mileage. Plus, distilling it takes more energy than it produces on combustion. It also absorbs water vapor from the atmosphere and this can cause corrosion if it sits in a dormant engine for any length of time.
At the farm, I would get about two years out of a lawn mower or other small engine. I take pains to maintain my tools properly so this was eye-opening. Switch to using ethanol-free gasoline and the engines are still running fine.
Putting this in our gasoline is just stupid and poorly thought out politics. Glad to see it ending.
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