Ethanol Question

Perhaps someone has already answered the question, but as I recall, alcohol
has one nasty characteristic, and that is it aborbs water. If that is true,

vanbussche...

Since cars are now being manufactured that can run on 85% ethanol (E85)
you would think that the rusting of such auto parts would not be a
factor, based on Andy's reply.Is an hybrid auto (Toyota Prius e.g.) a
better buy from a performance and emissions point of view than one that
runs on E85?

vanbussche...

Interestingly, since the 1960s, methanol (wood alcohol) has been the
required fuel for the Indianapolis 500 and other types of racing. The
reason for this is that methanol is made of a single chemical.
Gasoline, on the other hand, contains many different chemicals, and can
vary greatly from one batch to another.

Jerry Okamura...

Yeh, but that does not help those with older cars, which are mostly the
poor.

how do they keep the ethanol from aborbing water as it is being transported,
while it sits in some tank at the gas station, and while it sits in
automobiles? Second, what is the concentrate that is used for fuel? It
certainly cannot be 100% since no alcohol can maintain 100% purity. What is
the purity when it leaves the processing plant, and what is the purity when
it reaches the gas station?

AndyS...

Andy comments:

Actually, the ability to absorb water is a positive thing. In a
normal
gas tank, with gas in it, water is condensed from the air which is
constantly entering and leaving the tank with pressure and
temp changes. Consequently if a tank is half full for a long time,
the water which was formed , and DOES NOT mix with gas, settles
to the bottom of the tank. This is most evident in lawnmowers, where
the manual says to either completely drain the tank or completely
fill the tank..... it causes the tank to rust (which is why mower
tanks
are usually plastic now) and very hard starting, if the water pools
around
the gas line hole..... Fuel stabilizer can be added , which is
ALCOHOL,
and mixes the water with the gas. That doesn't hurt anything much.
Just "dilutes" the gas a little.....

If the tank was filled with alcohol, the condensate just mixes with
the
fuel. It dilutes it a little, but doesn't hurt things much, just like
with
gas.... The big problem would be a pool of water over the gas line
hole....

In a car, the tank is continually jostled, and gas is continually
being
put in and run out, and the "pooling" effect of water at the bottom of
the tank isn't noticeable since it never really has a chance to build
up a significant amount. With alcohol, it wouldn't pool up at
alll....

I think your concerns are for a non-problem. Water is absorbed
as you say, but it is a positive thing rather than a negative.

Andy in Eureka, Texas