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St. Cloud State University
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SCSU switches to ethanol fuel
By Nyssa Dahlberg
Published:
Monday, September 15, 2003
Media Credit: Erin Mesenbring
All SCSU vehicles will now be powered by E85, a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent petroleum. The fuel is cheaper for the school and is more healthy for the environment.
The world's nonrenewable resources are burning up at accelerated rates as earth progresses. Now is the time to begin to slow the process.
SCSU is contributing to this by using E85, an environmentally friendly gasoline, to power their buses and other business related vehicles.
E85 is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent petroleum. Technologies have evolved to different methods of using the earth's abundant corn resources to create ethanol. Ethanol is produced by fermenting and distilling simple sugars from corn. It is made in plants around the country. Currently, Minnesota has 14 ethanol plants with one as close as Little Falls, just north of St. Cloud.
A 2003 study performed by the Minnesota department of Agriculture proved that Minnesota's Ethanol plants produce 300 million gallons of ethanol per year with 140 million bushels of corn. The plants have made $580 million dollars to create 2,562 employment opportunities. Another good thing that has come to Minnesota though ethanol usage is the Twin Cities Area finally meets EPA carbon monoxide standards.
The state requires the replacement of 10 percent of all gasoline with ethanol.
SCSU has recently decided to use ethanol as their main fuel for The Central Motor Pool. This includes buses and vehicles available to faculty and staff.
Ron Smith, the maintenance engineer chief who helped get the university's E85 project running said, "The university decided to switch from gasoline to E85 simply because ethanol is better for the environment and it doesn't use up natural resources. It seemed to be the right thing to do."
Smith also said that E85 is not less expensive than regular gasoline but because of government support, the university is able to purchase E85 10-25 percent cheaper.
Currently ethanol can only be used in specialized vehicles. Since ethanol can corrode rubber and plastic parts of a car's engine (valve seals, piston rings, engine block, etc.), ethanol-powered vehicles, also called flexible fuel vehicles, have to be made with parts that ethanol can't damage.
Flexible fuel vehicles have a larger fuel tank since E85 burns faster than gasoline. This tank enables further driving distances. It is possible for a gasoline powered car to use a 10 percent ethanol and 90 percent gasoline blend (E10) without any harm to the engine, but any more ethanol could be risky.
In the future, E85 could be one of the main fuels used in the United States. As gas prices continue to rise and pollution remains a problem, the government may support ethanol further, making it cheaper for general use.
Cheaper gas may catch the public eye. In the end, an ethanol-based infrastructure could arise.
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