The U.S. is evaluating whether existing automobiles can safely handle a greater concentration of ethanol than the 10 percent currently blended into gasoline, a finding that would boost demand for the biofuel.
Gasoline containing 12 percent ethanol and 15 percent ethanol is being evaluated for any adverse effects on the automobile fleet, said Alexander Karsner, who heads the Energy Department’s efficiency and renewable-energy office. Carmakers don’t warranty vehicles beyond the 10 percent standard, known as E10, although Brazil’s standard gasoline is 22 percent ethanol, Karsner told reporters Monday in Wilmington, Del.
“We can’t get as much into our gas stations as we would like” because of the 10 percent blending limit, Philip New, president of BP PLC’s biofuels unit, said Monday at an event sponsored by DuPont Co.
Testing on the effects of E12 and E15 is being conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency, Karsner said. Minnesota has applied to use gasoline containing 20 percent ethanol, and that also will be evaluated, he said.
Ethanol demand has been crimped by Texas and some Southeast states that have not changed their regulations to permit ethanol in gasoline, except in cities such as Houston and Dallas where ethanol is added to cut air pollution, Karsner said.
“State regulations are hampering market penetration,” Karsner said. “Maximizing E10 is a priority” for the federal government.
Georgia and North Carolina are closest to adopting regulations that would open their regulations on ethanol, he said.
Ethanol prices have fallen as crude oil has approached $100 a barrel partly because of supply constraints, such as a scarcity of trains to ship the fuel from the Midwest to metropolitan areas, BP’s New said.
“There are enormous incentives for people to invest in resolving those constraints,” New said.
