Fuel change: Blessings and worries

Almost unnoticed, the makeup of vehicle fuel in the state of Oregon is undergoing some significant changes. The changes bring environmental benefits, economic benefits and a reduction on this country's dependence on foreign oil. However, the changes are not without a cost.

The Oregon legislature passed House Bill 2210 on June 21 of last year, and the bill adds to changes that are already taking place at the federal level. The bill requires the addition of biofuels to the petroleum standards in Oregon, when certain production standards are met. The standards for ethanol have already been met, and stations are now required to sell gasoline with a blend of 10 percent ethanol. Requirements for biodiesel have yet to been met but will be in the near future.

Currently, about 1 million gallons of biofuels are produced annually in Oregon. With renewable fuel standards in place, this amount is expected to increase dramatically.

"My guesstimate is 100 million gallons per year by 2010 and 500 million gallons by 2020," said Oregon Environmental Council program director Kevin Considine.

Over the last two years ultra-low-sulfur diesel that helps to reduce pollution has been phased in. The fuel has been refined in the US for more than a decade, but until recently it was all exported to Europe where it was usually blended with biodiesel and used to power high-tech diesel motors of much greater efficiency than are available in this country. However, the American manufacturers are now ramping up to make the same technology available here for increased gas mileage and lower emissions.

According to the Clean Diesel Fuel Alliance, the use of ultra-low-sulfur fuel in the newer clean-diesel engines will result in significantly improved air quality. Annual emission reductions will be equivalent to removing the pollution from more than 90 percent of today's trucks and buses when the current heavy-duty vehicle fleet has been completely replaced in 2030, says the organization.

Calvin Liebelt is a long-haul trucker who often passes through Sisters. He understands the need for change but wishes he didn't have to shoulder the cost.

"The new low-sulfur diesel fuel is much harder on engines than the old fuel. With the old fuel, I could go at least 40 percent further before I needed a rebuild, and that is a significant expense. But that is offset by the increasing availability of biodiesel because motors last even longer with that fuel than with the old high-sulfur fuels. The only problem is that biodiesel doesn't like cold weather, so when I am in this part of the U.S., I have to use a blend or straight new diesel. If I could I would switch to pure biodiesel. It just isn't possible in this area during the winter," Liebelt said.

Ethanol carries its own set of problems, ironically because it is a much cleaner fuel. Ethanol is a wonderful solvent and cleans as it goes. It also mixes with water. If there is varnish, other fuel byproducts or water in the fuel system, it will dissolve or mix with them and feed them straight to the motor where usually they pass unnoticed except for an occasional misfire. Once the initial cleaning process is passed, the problem is usually eliminated.

However, on older cars that have significant buildup of water or corrosion in the fuel system, clogged fuel filters, clogged injectors and other problems can result.

"It may seriously affect older cars, especially those built before 1982, which may not have fuel system components that are ethanol-proof. There are going to be a lot of stalled cars on the road when this bill goes into effect, if the media doesn't at least warn them that they will probably need to change their fuel filters after the first couple of tank fulls of E10," said Dean Billing of Sisters.

Pure ethanol in unmodified motors also produces about 10 percent lower mileage per gallon than gasoline. According to most accepted math models, the 10 percent ethanol blend will reduce gas mileage around one percent in conventional four-stroke motors. Two-stroke motors may suffer slightly more and even require some adjustments to operate at peak levels, so snowmobiles and some power tools may suffer.