Ethanol gains momentum
With their announced plans to assist the State of California in building a bio-enthanol fleet of vehicles and the combination of a high-powered advertising campaign and a new, ethanol-friendly 2007 Chevy Avalanche. General Motors posed an intriguing question:
Who needs hybrids when you’ve got corn?
According to General Motors, bio-ethanol – or more specifically, cars able to drive using either gasoline or a mixture of gasoline and ethanol – is a viable way to significantly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. General Motors cites several of its vehicles as examples of the fuel’s effectiveness, especially its Saab 9-5 BioPower Concept, introduced at last month’s Los Angeles Auto Show, and the new 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche, which debuted at the recent Chicago Auto Show. The Saab 9-5 is equipped with a 2.3-liter turbo engine that produces 310 horsepower and 325 lb. ft. of torque – 25 percent more than a gas equivalent – and is able to accelerate to 60 mph in under six seconds. When powered by gasoline, GM says that performance times are significantly slower, and emissions are significantly higher. That’s some fast-moving corn, to be sure, and while the 9-5 Aero is a concept, Saab already is the first luxury automaker in Europe with a bio-ethanol model, its 9-5 2.0t BioPower production model, which went on sale in Europe last year. General Motors likes Ethanol as an alternative to gasoline because it’s a fuel source that would be virtually transparent to drivers, and is less costly than other methods of reducing oil consumption, such as the development and manufacture of a full hybrid powertrain for mass-produced cars, or the development of a hydrogen-based fuel cell systems.
Saab, Chevy and GMC
Ethanol fuel is normally produced from the sugar and starch in corn. Unlike gasoline, its consumption does not raise atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) because emissions during driving are balanced by the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere, through natural photosynthesis, when crops for conversion are grown. To ensure acceptable performance, ethanol is blended (85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline) and sold commercially as E85 fuel. As E85 fuel has a much higher octane rating than gasoline, it enables engine systems to perform at a higher rate. Hardware modifications needed to handle E85 fuel include more durable valves, valve seats and the use of ethanol-compatible materials in the fuel system, including the tank, pump, lines and connectors. The Saab BioPower vehicles can use either gasoline or E85 fuel thanks to a Tritonic monitor system that gauges fuel quality and automatically makes adjustments for the type of fuel used.
Critics say that while E85 has potential, the price of a gallon will dissuade many from using the fuel, and the simple lack of E85 filling stations make it problematic for anyone outside a few concentrated Midwestern areas. GM would like to change that, and are putting into place a much broader ethanol initiative that will make up to nine 2006 models E85 capable from Chevrolet and GMC, creating a total 1.5 million vehicles on the road that take E85. Add to that recent efforts by Ford to develop a competitive E85 initiative, and the momentum seems toward ethanol seems to be growing. General Motors is also working with Chevron Technology Ventures and Pacific Ethanol to develop a project in which the State of California would use between 50 to 100 GM bio-ethanol vehicles in a fleet of work vehicles, to be used in Northern California and the Central Valley.
Photos by Ron Perry, and General Motors
