Energy Minister Reaffirms Availability Of E85 In Next 3 Months

[george]

Energy minister reaffirms availability of E85 in next 3 months

BANGKOK: -- Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop on Wednesday reaffirmed that E85 gasohol, the 85 per cent ethanol-blended gasoline, will be available for sale on the market in the next three months.

She said the Ministry of Energy would go ahead with its plan to place the E85 gasohol consumption promotion scheme on the national agenda despite a mounting call by a group of automakers for reconsideration of the plan.

Under the plan, the country's giant oil traders PTT Plc and Bangchak Petroleum Plc are ready to make E85 gasohol available in 30 oil service stations in the next three months.

The minister said the E85 promotion could save gasoline consumption and encourage the use of materials from the agricultural sector to produce ethanol on a continuing basis.

She said the ministry would propose the issue of ethanol use for discussion at the ASEAN energy ministers meeting in Bangkok on Thursday.

Whether the energy ministers will approve the intra-grouping strategic oil reserve proposal or not must be taken into consideration in determining Thailand's forward energy policy.

Poonpirom noted that the continued drop in oil prices at present is good news since it can lead to a reduction in the current high cost of living.

However, she advised the public to continue to conserve energy because oil prices are likely to rise in the fourth quarter of this year.

-- TNA 2008-08-07

[culicine]

So how many cars currently produced can run on E85? I bet not too many! maybe the benz/bmw that the local politican gets driven around in, but that's about all. Looks like another ploy to help the rich save on fuel costs. I don;t see any other reason for such a push given that seemingly few cars can run on the stuff..

[otherstuff1957]

Here's what Wiki has to say about E85:

E-85 ethanol is used in engines modified to accept higher concentrations of ethanol. Such flexible-fuel vehicles (FFV) are designed to run on any mixture of gasoline or ethanol with up to 85% ethanol by volume. There are a few major differences between FFVs and non-FFVs. One is the elimination of bare magnesium, aluminum, and rubber parts in the fuel system. Another is that fuel pumps must be capable of operating with electrically conductive ethanol instead of non-conducting dielectric gasoline fuel. Fuel injection control systems have a wider range of pulse widths to inject approximately 40% more fuel. Stainless steel fuel lines, sometimes lined with plastic, and stainless steel fuel tanks in place of terne fuel tanks are used. In some cases, FFVs use acid-neutralizing motor oil. For vehicles with fuel-tank mounted fuel pumps, additional differences to prevent arcing, as well as flame arrestors positioned in the tank's fill pipe, are also sometimes used.

So, what vehicles are already Flex Fuel? Well, I couldn't find a link that listed them on one page, but if you google Thailand and E85 you'll find that NO cars built before 2005 are E85 compatible and NO cars currently built by Toyota or Honda are E85 compatible!

[Plus]

So how many cars currently produced can run on E85?

The answer for Thailand is - none.

Volvo can import and sell you E85 compatible car, and GM promises the same if anyone is interested. BMW and Benz are not involved at all, not to mention Japanese.

[initiala4]

So whats the point of having E85 if no cars can support it heheh