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August 06, 2008 | Jim Lane | Comments 1

Today in World Opinion: “We are not getting gas that starts out as 87, 89, or 92 [octane]…it is obviously bad for the consumer who doesn’t know any better.”

Sean O’Hanlon, executive director, American Biofuels Council: “I had an interesting conversation with Ron Lamberty (VP, American Coalition for Ethanol) yesterday. He informed me that in many cases the oil companies are blending the ethanol with gas that is 85 or even 83 RON. We are not getting gas that starts out as 87, 89, or 92 RON and then ethanol added, which we know should improve performance. This would explain why motorists are reporting a greater than expected loss in MPG’s; especially at E85. While this is clearly a way for the oil companies to cut corners and make more money it is obviously bad for the consumer who doesn’t know any better”

[Note, "RON" is one of the two components of an octane rating. RON is typically 10-28 points higher than "MON" , a rating produced by a different method. In the United States,. octane is expressed as an average of RON and MON (R+M/2), while in Europe RON is quoted as the octane rating. E100 ethanol has a RON of 129, a MON of 102, and an (averaged) octane rating of 116, compared to 87 for unleaded gasoline.]

Natalie Allen, anchor of The Weather Channel’s Forecast Earth, a program on climate change: “You know, I think it was the lady who does my hair that said it first: “Don’t continually show me the polar bear floating on the melting ice; tell me what I can do.” An exclusive Biofuels Digest interview with Natalie Allen is here.

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