Congratulations, Minnesota!

If you live in Minnesota, you're fortunate to be part of one of the most progressive clean fuel programs in the country. The program began in the early 1990's in the Twin Cities metro area, and eventually expanded into a statewide policy. Minnesota legislation now ensures that the vast majority of gasoline sold in the state contains an oxygenate, to provide for cleaner air. As the name implies, oxygenates adds oxygen to gasoline, which allows the mixture to burn more completely, thus reducing harmful tailpipe emissions and improving engine performance.

 In Minnesota, the oxygenate most often used is ethanol.

Oxygenates are blended with gasoline to reduce the amount of harmful carbon monoxide that is discharged from internal combustion engines, like automobiles, lawn mowers, snowmobiles and boat motors. The result of adding an oxygenate (ethanol) is cleaner air for all Minnesotans.

ETHANOLOGIC: Why producing ethanol from corn makes such good sense.

What is Ethanol?
Ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol) is a clear, colorless liquid made by fermenting and distilling material, usually some sort of plant. In the United States, corn is most common product used to make ethanol. One bushel of corn produces almost three gallons of ethanol. As a clean-burning and renewable fuel that is non-toxic and 100 percent biodegradable, it reduces harmful air pollution and improves engine performance.

Why Corn Ethanol?
Ethanol is a cleaner burning fuel and reduces our dependence on foreign oil. And, ethanol produced from corn is a renewable resource, unlike petroleum. As farming practices and ethanol production technology continue to evolve, the efficiency of ethanol continues to improve. Most reserachers agree that ethanol has a postive net energy balance of between 1.3:1 and 1.67:1, meaning that ethanol provides between 30 percent and 67 percent more energy than what it required to produce it.

Ethanol is great for Minnesota's economy
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) estimates that the 17 ethanol plants operating in the state in 2008 will produce about one billion gallons of ethanol, and will have a total economic impact of nearly $5 billion dollars. The state's ethanol industry provides more than 18,000 jobs and helps Minnesota communities thrive, by offering employment, an increased tax base and better prices for corn. When ethanol production facilities are locally owned, as many Minnesota plants are, the economic benefits are leveraged further, by keeping more of the value of what is produced locally within the local community.

Find the MDA economic impact report here

Ethanol reduces our dependence on foreign oil
With U.S. dependence on foreign oil projected to grow from 57% in 2002 to 68% in 2025, our country increasingly relies on crude oil supplies from very unstable regions of the world.

Renewable fuels like ethanol produced in this country mostly from corn are part of the solution to our increasing energy problem. The use of ethanol directly displaces imports of foreign oil and gasoline additives. Today, ethanol reduced the need to import 128,000 barrels a day of oil and gasoline additives.

More information about ethanol and energy security

Ethanol blends can be used in any engine
Ethanol is warranted by every automobile manufacturer in the world, and is safe for all engines. Ethanol enhances engine performance by increasing the octane level in gasoline. Many world-class motorcycle and snowmobile racers prefer ethanol because of its performance advantage over other fuels. Beginning in 2007, the Indy Racing League Indy Car Series cars are now fueled with E100 which is 100% ethanol.

Ethanol cleans engines and prevents the build-up of engine deposits. It is safe for engine gaskets, valves, and cylinders in cars, boats, ATV's and all other non-automotive engines, like lawnmowers and chainsaws.

Ethanol is also an ASTM-approved fuel. However, probably the most compelling evidence that ethanol is safe for all engines is that motorists have driven more than a trillion miles problem-free using ethanol-blended fuel. If you buy your gas in Minnesota, your vehilces and non-automotive engines have been running fine on ethanol-blended gas for about 10 years.

E85: The clean air solution
In addition to being blended in Minnesota's gasoline at about a ten percent rate, ethanol is also blended into a fuel formulation called E85, which is comprised of 85 percent ethanol and just 15 percent petroleum. This fuel can be used by a growing number of vehicles called Flexible Fuel Vehicles, or FFVs. FFVs are designed to run on any blend of ethanol and gasoline, up to 85% ethanol. Today, Minnesota has more than 175,000 FFVs on its roads, and over 350 E85 fueling stations - more than any other state in the country. Studies by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have shown that harmful exhaust emissions can be reduced by more than 50% by using high-blend fuels such as E85.

The American Lung Association promotes and supports the use of E85 as a cleaner alternative to gasoline.

More environmental information from the Renewable Fuels Association

Corn & Ethanol Myths
Click here to get the facts about why Ethanol made from corn benefits all Americans.