How much ethanol is produced in the U.S.?
According to the Renewable Fuels Association, the U.S. produced 5.4 billion gallons of ethanol in 2007. As of March 2008, U.S. ethanol production capacity was at 7.2 billion gallons, with an additional 6.2 billion gallons of capacity under construction. • Will I get lower gas mileage with ethanol-blended fuels than with traditional gasoline? The ethanol blends used today have little impact on fuel economy or vehicle performance. Ethanol has the highest octane rating of any commonly used fuel, but on a gallon-for-gallon basis, ethanol delivers less energy than gasoline. Today’s vehicles that are designed to run on gasoline blended with ethanol in small amounts (up to 10 percent) will likely see no perceptible effect on fuel economy. Flex-fuel vehicles designed to run on higher ethanol blends like 85-percent-ethanol E85 experience reduced miles per gallon when using the blended fuel, but these engines can be tuned to minimize the detrimental effects ethanol has on fuel economy by making
