E-Diesel is a fuel that uses additives in order to allow blending of ethanol with diesel. It includes ethanol blends of 7.7% to 15% and up to 5% special additives that prevent the ethanol and diesel from separating at very low temperatures or if water contamination occurs. Use of E-diesel would also increase demand for ethanol, as diesel vehicles in the U.S. consume approximately 36 billion gallons of diesel a year EIA Annual Energy.
E-Diesel is currently an experimental flex fuel and is being developed by many companies, who can receive federal ethanol tax credit when blending ethanol with diesel. Demonstrations are currently being conducted on the use of E-diesel in heavy-duty trucks, buses, and farm machinery. There is a light increase in operating costs due to a slight (7-10%) mileage decreases with E-diesel use. However, there are many environmental benefits to using e-diesel, such as reduced emissions of Particulate Matter from 27% to 41%, Carbon Monoxide from 20% to 27%, Nitrogen Oxides 4% to 5%.
Supporters of E-diesel see it as a major new market for ethanol and an effective way to help engine manufacturers meet tough new emission standards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For instance, it can take up to 10 years for manufacturers to phase in new engine designs that reduce emissions and meet tough new EPA standards. However, switching to E-diesel gets immediate the environmental benefits.
Anyone have any gas stations that dispense the fuel? I can’t say that I have seen it before.
I spotted a website about E-diesel at http://www.e-diesel.org/ unfortunately Mark, I don’t know if any gas stations dispense E-diesel in the US and Canada. Also, it could be interesting to experiment “E-biodiesel” blending ethanol and biodiesel with conventionnal diesel.