What is the difference between octane and ethanol

More in this section Ethanol Fuel Basics. Production, Consumption, and Trade of Ethanol. Ethanol Laws and Incentives by State. Talk about a win-win-win solution. Moving forward, as car manufacturers increase the number of models equipped with high compression engines to maximize performance and efficiency, higher octane fuels will be required and ethanol is set to play a crucial role.

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently found that vehicle efficiency would increase 5 percent for E25 and 10 percent for E40, making mid-level ethanol blends the optimal fuel for future cars.

Ethanol and Octane For Beginners. Tuesday, 17 May This is where ethanol comes in. Octane Response of Premium-Recommended Vehicles. SAE Technical Paper , doi Cracknell, V. Natarajan, D. Doyle et al. Understanding the Octane Appetite of Modern Vehicles. West, B. Huff, L. Moore, M. DeBusk, and S. Department of Energy and the U.

Environmental Protection Agency. DOE and the U. Toggle navigation. Selling your car? We can help you advertise its mpg.

Vehicles produce about half of the greenhouse gases from a typical U. We can help you calculate and track your fuel economy. MPG estimates from drivers like you! Answers to frequently asked questions about octane. By , finding pure gas in the United States will be a difficult challenge. The possible exception to this would be if there's a change in political climate or if they decrease the mandate of the Renewable Fuels Standard.

Lowering the required yearly volume would create more space in the marketplace for ethanol-free gas. Fortunately, consumers can take steps to counteract the bad effects of ethanol by using high-quality fuel system additives that have no ethanol or alcohol of any kind in them.

Products are available for small engines, boat engines, car engines, and most any type of gasoline internal combustion engine. Topics: Ethanol , Gasoline. Posted in: Ethanol , Gasoline. Shop Now. The Differences Between Ethanol and Gasoline A gallon of gasoline provides one-third more energy than a gallon of ethanol. Blending ethanol and gasoline at a ratio of 85 percent to 15 percent E85 , the blended fuel is nearly thirty percent less powerful than pure gasoline.

Ethanol is similar in acceleration, power, and cruising ability, but ethanol miles per gallon are less than pure gasoline.