Originally Posted By: turtlevette
Originally Posted By: Wilhelm_D
Ethanol is not inherently cleaner burning than gasoline.
(1) Oh yes it is. By far. How much sulphur does ethanol have?
(2) If modern fuel injection is so clean why do we still need cats?
(3) Get educated, read up, and get the chip off your shoulder.
(1) Gasoline has almost none.
Refiners in the last few years have cut the sulfur content in gasoline by 90 percent, from 300 parts to 30 parts per million.
On the upside, the amount of carbon dioxide produced by refineries is about 1/10 that created to make the same BTU value of ethanol.
(2) In Brazil, where ethanol is mandated, they still have catalytic converters. Ethanol is just one more hydrocarbon.
Ethanol, of course, is one of the major causes of oxygen sensor failures. A small amount ethanol in the gasoline (gasohol) can get past the piston rings and into the motor oil. This ethanol with agitation and heat liberates some of the phosphorus from the motor oil. The phosphorus is vaporized and sucked into the Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PCV) system and burned in the combustion chamber. This burned phosphorus on its way out the exhaust coats the O2 sensor(s) building up in layers.
This causes the sensor to react slower than normal. The engine computer reads this slow reaction time as a failure of the sensor forcing its replacement.
Then there is all that water in fuel tanks due to ethanol separation. And we might want to talk about the upstream pollution that ethanol production causes. Or perhaps the damage ethanol causes to fuel systems.
(3) Speaking of a chip .... the reason why the ethanol in a car with a carburetor reduces some emissions is because it causes the vehicle, which was designed for gasoline, to run somewhat lean. That's why when the gasohol mandate first made its appearance, the EPA referred to ethanol as an "oxygenator".
Don't be a git.
