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Effects of Intermediate Ethanol Blends on Legacy Vehicles and Small Non-Road Engines

This report is an update of the original version, which was published in October 2008. This updated report includes results from the complete 16-vehicle fleet (the original report included only the first 13 vehicles tested) as well as corrections to minor errors identified in some of the originally reported data. Conclusions drawn from the complete dataset are nearly identical to those from the
original 13-vehicle fleet but with increased statistical confidence.

In summer 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated a test program to evaluate
the potential impacts of intermediate ethanol blends on legacy vehicles and other engines. The
purpose of the test program is to assess the viability of using intermediate blends as a contributor to meeting national goals in the use of renewable fuels. Through a wide range of experimental activities, DOE is evaluating the effects of E15 and E20—gasoline blended with 15% and 20% ethanol—on tailpipe and evaporative emissions, catalyst and engine durability, vehicle driveability, engine operability, and vehicle and engine materials.

Author(s)
Knoll, Keith, West, Brian
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Bioenergy Category
Publication Date
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