From AAIA Capital Report

Researchers from the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology recently released their findings that vehicles running on a fuel containing 20 percent ethanol showed "significant" reduction in carbon dioxide and other tailpipe emissions over vehicles using gasoline. The study, which was conducted over a one-year period, examined the emissions from 10 vehicles and showed a 23 percent decrease in carbon monoxide emissions, a 12.7 percent decrease in total hydrocarbon emissions, a 3.6 percent decrease in carbon dioxide emissions and a 2.4 percent decrease in nitrogen dioxide emissions for vehicles running on E20 versus gasoline.

The vehicles used in the study consisted of light-, medium-duty and passenger vehicles between four and 10 years old. The researchers concluded that drivability and maintenance were unaffected by use of E20, which contains 10 percent more ethanol than is currently allowable. The report did note that not all vehicles running on E20 experienced a reduction in all emissions and that more time was needed to study the effects of emissions degradation. The study coincides with the Environmental Protection Agency’s consideration of a rule that would increase the amount of ethanol allowable in gasoline.