Posted on 06/08/2022 7:36:05 AM PDT by dalight
Last Friday the Biden administration raised the mandatory amount of biofuel, specifically ethanol, that must be blended within the U.S. gasoline supply. The previous amount of 10% (summer blend) was raised to a year-round 15% (waiver) by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is likely to lead to two sets of bigger issues, less food and higher gas prices.
♦ First issue. – The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is a government mandate, passed in 2005 and expanded in 2007, that requires growing volumes of biofuels to be blended into U.S. transportation fuels like gasoline and diesel every year. Approximately 40 percent of corn grown in the U.S. is used for ethanol. Raising the amount of ethanol required in gasoline will result in the need for more biofuel (corn). With farming costs and outputs already under pressure this could be problematic.
♦ Second issue – The EPA enforces the biofuel standard by requiring refineries to submit purchase credits (known as Renewable Identification Numbers, or RINs) to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proving the purchases. This enforcement requirement sets up a system where the RIN credits are bought and sold by small refineries who do not have the infrastructure to do the blending process. They purchase second-hand RIN credits from parties that blended or imported biofuels directly. This sets up a secondary income stream, a trading market for the larger oil companies, refineries and importers.
The RIN credit trading platform is similar to what we might expect to see if the ‘Carbon Trading’ scheme was ever put into place. However, now that summer biofuel requirements for blended gasoline have gone from 10% to 15%, the price of the RIN credits will likely jump. This will cost refineries billions in additional expenses,…. which will mean the cost of the gasoline from the refineries will increase,….. which will mean the cost of the gasoline at the pump will go higher.
♦ Third Issue – “Ethanol is a valuable source of octane in finished gasoline, but it is chemically different than petroleum gasoline and cannot be used in concentrations above 10 percent in small engines — like outboard boat motors, motorcycles, lawnmowers, generators or chain saws — or in any cars made before 2001. Complicating matters further, most cars on the road today still aren’t warrantied to run on gasoline with more than 10 percent ethanol. Retail stations also must have compatible infrastructure in order to sell gasoline with higher ethanol blends.” This issue is known within the industry as “The Blend Wall.”
Buy Avgas.
E10 already can’t be used in newer mowers and such unless you want to drain your gas all the time. Luckily I can still find pure gas around.
Thanks, I have used the 40:1 for a 2-cycle string trimmer. Looking at the True Fuel line, I think the one in the gray can is the one for lawn mowers.
Add it to the "Democrats Destroy Everything They Touch" list.
So much hyperventilating get a grip. The waiver ALLOWS not forces the sale of E15 in summer where it was previously banned due to the higher evaporative organic emissions. This in no way forces the non attainment areas to blend E10 up to E15 for sale in E10 pumps which is in fact against federal law and still is READ THE DAMN real text as released by the agency in charge of it and not some political website with an axe to grind.
Here is the actual waiver.
https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-issues-emergency-fuel-waiver-e15-sales
Nowhere in it is mandating blend up it is still in fact very illegal to sell E15 in any pump not specifically marked as a dedicated E15 pump with the EPA notices to only use it in vehicles certified by same EPA to burn it. Those pumps by LAW have blue handles or are dedicated blender pumps that can also dispense E20,30,50,or 85% into EPA certified flex fuel vehicles.
You cannot “accidentally” put E15 in a vehicle unless you are a complete moron and ignore the half dozen indicators that the pump you are using is dispensing E15 or anything other than E10. Again stop being like the orange man bad types just closing your eyes and screaming. No where in the waiver is the power let alone the mandate to blend up E10 into E15 and then dispense that in E10 pumps which is very VERY illegal to do.
My car absolutely loves E85 it’s the equal to racing gas with 114 octane it allows my ECU and turbo programmer to run at boost levels you would have to buy race gas at $8 plus a gallon to reach. Here is a demo of.this very effect and they get more HP from E85 vs race gas. The ethanol blows the race gas out of the water and you would crater that motor on 93 octane in seconds at these boost levels.
https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/e85-vs-114-octane-race-gas-on-the-dyno-with-a-boosted-small-block/
Thanks
Illegal no longer matters.
I didn’t post the article, take it up with the author. Now that you decided to be a horse’s tail about it. A little bit of research in this same thread would have uncovered that this point had been made.
I didn’t realize you were going to be so touchy about it. Sorry.
I had said that 5 people had already pointed this out. So.. yea.. it gets old. You will see it sometime I am sure. It is one of the great aspects of this community, that we self-correct. But, piling on doesn’t do any good. It is best to work your way down the thread before jumping in feet first.
Nevertheless, I didn’t write the article and there is some controversy about what this new policy means. Tucker Carlson talked about it the other night. That diverting corn to fuel was a bad deal for all except for agribusiness interests who profit from the distortion of the farm market that this creates. A shortage of corn also increases meat and chicken prices.
Its almost like they are planning this crisis.
you are right about planning the crisis
One of the things that are not making news is the shortage of Diesel Exhaust Fluid. And, oddly the railways are being told to cut their shipments of this crucial additive that is required for all new Diesel Trucks and Tractors. They are simply prevented by the electronics that allow the engine to start running if this fluid isn’t present. This is going to really bite in in the next few weeks, preventing crops from being managed and trucks from making deliveries. Why?
I don’t like to swallow conspiracy theories, but there are too many things going really screwy right now for it to be by accident. I’m m very glad that I’m old.
It’s not a conspiracy when they publish it in the newspaper. John Kerry says there is no more drilling needed because we won’t be using oil in 5 years. It’s stupid, but this is what they think.
And, they think they can create a panic like in 2020 so that they can force another mail-in election this year.
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