Total volume over year must contain 5 per cent ethanol

January 04, 2007
Tyler Hamilton
Energy Reporter

All gasoline sold in southern Ontario must contain an average blend of 5 per cent ethanol as of Jan. 1, but don't expect every gas station to carry the cleaner-burning fuel.

And for those that do, you won't necessarily know it.

"What's going to be visible depends on the retailers," said Bliss Baker, a vice-president with Toronto-based GreenField Ethanol Inc., the largest ethanol producer in Canada.

Ontario's new biofuel mandate, known as Regulation 535, doesn't require gasoline retailers to advertise that the fuel they sell contains ethanol, typically made from corn.

Suppliers also have the flexibility of choosing where and when ethanol-blended fuel is sold, as long as the total volume sold in Ontario over the year contains an average blend of 5 per cent.

"Given the complexities of introducing ethanol into the market, we found the most efficient way to meet the regulations is to focus on larger urban areas," said Michael Southern, a spokesman for Petro-Canada, the country's third-largest oil company.

Southern said Petro-Canada is targeting the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding communities, such as Hamilton and Kitchener, with ethanol blends of up to 10 per cent.

Stations located in less populated areas will probably not carry the new fuel in the short term.

"But, over the course of 2007, we will meet the 5 per cent average, for sure," said Southern. He added that Petro-Canada does intend to notify customers if the pump they're using contains the renewable fuel.

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. will have a similar disclosure policy at the gas pumps located near some of the company's grocery stores. Spokesman Geoffrey Wilson said the retail giant is at the mercy of the refiners and their ability to supply the fuel.

"Where we can get it, we will pump it," said Wilson, adding that wholesale suppliers have indicated the new blend will be ready for GTA distribution in February.

Ethanol is a type of alcohol made mostly today from grains such as corn and wheat. Enzymes are used to turn the starchy material into glucose, which is then distilled into oxygen-rich ethanol. Newer, more economical methods are also being developed for turning agricultural waste, and so-called fuel crops such as switch grass, into "cellulosic" ethanol.

The high oxygen content in ethanol means that adding it to gasoline helps achieve a more complete burn of a vehicle's fuel, leading to lower emissions.

John Steele, a spokesman for Ontario's environment ministry, said all gas-powered vehicles sold since the early 1980s are capable of using fuel containing up to 10 per cent ethanol, or E10, with no impact on performance. Blends containing a higher concentration of ethanol, such as E85, can be used only in so-called flex-fuel vehicles.

Steele said the new mandate in Ontario, which doesn't apply to northern Ontario until 2010, will require 850 million litres annually to meet market needs.

The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association is expecting about 750 million litres in new production capacity to come online in Ontario toward the end of 2007 and into 2008. Until then, the industry will rely heavily on imports.

"In the first months of 2007, you're going to see a big spike in ethanol imports while additional plants are being built," Kory Teneycke, executive director of the renewable fuels association, said in an interview.

GreenField, formerly Commercial Alcohols, produces 215 million litres a year at Ontario plants in Chatham and Tiverton. Two more plants in the province are under construction in Hensall and Johnstown, while another facility is slated to open in Quebec in February.

Last summer, oil giant Suncor Energy Inc. opened a facility in Sarnia that can produce up to 200 million litres, making the operation the largest single ethanol plant in Canada. Suncor has voluntarily sold ethanol-blended gasoline at Sunoco stations for several years.

The mandating of ethanol in gasoline has been the subject of considerable debate.

Critics argue such regulation and associated incentives amount to a subsidy for corn farmers, and that the production of corn-based ethanol consumes more energy than the fuel gives back.

i think this is more to satisfy the people complaining than to actually impact emissions or make our fossil fuel supply last longer. running an engine on alcohol takes twice as much fuel as running an engine on gasoline so in theory you'll be getting very slightly less km per tank. and most of the good gas stations already have ethanol in their gas anyway whether they tell you or not. look at sonoco's ultra 94 for example, i think it says "up to 10% ethanol" right on the pump.

if they want to get serious about this they would phase out gasoline engines by 2020 and only be using biodiesel as fuel since its 100% organic and the diesel engines we have now can run perfectly fine off of it.

my two pennies.

the production of corn-based ethanol consumes more energy than the fuel gives back.


So without subsidizing this process (guess who pays for that) there would be no ethanol.

Growing corn is also dependent on cheap oil inputs for planting, harvesting and fertelizing - ask the farmers to use what they grow to fuel their tractors and they'll tell you where to go, but they'll gladly take the governments money for the corn.

And when I fill up at GTO or Sunoco, the fuel economy drop is noticable (about 8-10%) so I quit doing so. Saving 1c per litre is just not worth it if the car burns 1litre more / 100k.

In its purest form, ethanol has approx. 25% less energy than gasoline, resulting in a fuel economy drop of 15-25% depending on the engine it is burned in. Aside from the energy content, the biggest difficulty with ethanol fuel is its higher octane rating. A higher octane rating allows for better ignition at high compression, in a full throttle situation for example. Engines that do not run at high compression ratios do not benefit from higher octane ratings and will generally run poorer regardless of the fuel type used (There are exceptions).

Chemically, vegetable oil has less energy than diesel fuel; this is noted by a lower cetane value. Consequently, engines running on the plant-produced fuel get approximately 10% poorer fuel economy than their fossil fuel counterparts. Change in the engine’s power production can also fluctuate by up to 10% due to the lower energy content. Regardless of source, vegetable oil/biodiesel is highly viscous. Unlike diesel made from petroleum, this reduces the fuel injector’s ability to atomize the incoming fuel. Less atomization can cause lubrication and deposition problems and ignition can be a problem too. In our Canadian climate (usually...) cold weather starting or operation could be a serious problem as the fuel begins to congeal below 50 degrees.

Pros and cons for each as far as usage is concerned, but each have similar source problems. If they cannot be produced by sustainable means, they offer little social benefit aside from minor pollution reduction (not always so for biodiesel). If we can afford to supplement gasoline or diesel with more "natural" products in a sustainable fashion, then I encourage policy change.

Just for fun... to give you an idea of how much we would have to devote to a wheat-based ethanol crop for the Canadian market (my numbers are now a year and a half old):

-For Canada, there is an exceptional amount of unused wheat available for export. Each year approximately 17 000 000 tonnes of wheat produce could be diverted for ethanol production
-Current Canadian technology is capable of producing 370 liters of ethanol per tonne of wheat, translating to a potential 6 290 000 000 liters of ethanol per year
-The most recent statistics indicate that Canadian gasoline consumption would require almost 6 times that amount of fuel.

Originally Posted by Vital

In its purest form, ethanol has approx. 25% less energy than gasoline, resulting in a fuel economy drop of 15-25% depending on the engine it is burned in. Aside from the energy content, the biggest difficulty with ethanol fuel is its higher octane rating. A higher octane rating allows for better ignition at high compression, in a full throttle situation for example. Engines that do not run at high compression ratios do not benefit from higher octane ratings and will generally run poorer regardless of the fuel type used (There are exceptions).

Chemically, vegetable oil has less energy than diesel fuel; this is noted by a lower cetane value. Consequently, engines running on the plant-produced fuel get approximately 10% poorer fuel economy than their fossil fuel counterparts. Change in the engine’s power production can also fluctuate by up to 10% due to the lower energy content. Regardless of source, vegetable oil/biodiesel is highly viscous. Unlike diesel made from petroleum, this reduces the fuel injector’s ability to atomize the incoming fuel. Less atomization can cause lubrication and deposition problems and ignition can be a problem too. In our Canadian climate (usually...) cold weather starting or operation could be a serious problem as the fuel begins to congeal below 50 degrees.

Pros and cons for each as far as usage is concerned, but each have similar source problems. If they cannot be produced by sustainable means, they offer little social benefit aside from minor pollution reduction (not always so for biodiesel). If we can afford to supplement gasoline or diesel with more "natural" products in a sustainable fashion, then I encourage policy change.

Just for fun... to give you an idea of how much we would have to devote to a wheat-based ethanol crop for the Canadian market (my numbers are now a year and a half old):

-For Canada, there is an exceptional amount of unused wheat available for export. Each year approximately 17 000 000 tonnes of wheat produce could be diverted for ethanol production
-Current Canadian technology is capable of producing 370 liters of ethanol per tonne of wheat, translating to a potential 6 290 000 000 liters of ethanol per year
-The most recent statistics indicate that Canadian gasoline consumption would require almost 6 times that amount of fuel.

When did you get so smart?? lol someone's been doing there homework!

So is this Gasoline going to offer more performance ??
Are we potentially going to see higher octane numbers at the pump, like in Europe??

most of that info is totaly different then the info we got at work. our info says its gonna be 10% mixed with all regular fuels at every gas station.

ethonal is better for the enviroment but it gives you shittier gas milege poorer performance. so difference in octane at all.

for some cars this is gonna cause problems it all depends on how your car is mapped out and anything from the 80s or older will have the most problems. check with your mechanic before you fill up with this new blend.

theres no notice to when each gas station is gonna be changing to this. all i know is our tanks are gonna have to be near empty and that the stations pumps will be shut down for around 10 hours as they add new filters and change the computers.

but you gotta love how something this big and they dont realy give anyone notice of this change untill the day it starts to take effect.

sites that may help you that have all the info.

fuels05.ca
vehiclefuels.gc.ca
ene.gov.on.ca/envision/ethanal


chad

I have to run my car on 94 and the only stations that generally offer 94 are GTO or Sunoco. I get terrible gas mileage. This could be due to lots of things but I'm sure the Ethanol content doesnt help.

Originally Posted by Shred

I have to run my car on 94 and the only stations that generally offer 94 are GTO or Sunoco. I get terrible gas mileage. This could be due to lots of things but I'm sure the Ethanol content doesnt help.

try shell 91 its got the performance and you should get good gas milege. i know your suposed to use 94 but just try a tank of shell 91 it burns much better.

WTH happened to Shell 93 Octane?? ie the VPower BS Ferrari fuel?

All of the sations had it before in the GTA area, now its only 91....Sunoco has 94.....but I want variety

91 not an option (unless its an emeyrgancy)

Do they even make a fuel below 91 octane? (I kid but still...)

my station got our ethonal blend in today. it slows down the pumps and fucks them up even more then usual and no one knows about this new mixture.