Ethanol-Powered Vehicles Generate More Ozone Than Gas-Powered Ones
Ethanol — often promoted as a clean-burning, renewable fuel that could help wean the nation from oil — would likely worsen health problems caused by ozone, compared with gasoline, especially in winter, according to a new study led by Stanford researchers.
Ozone production from both gasoline and E85, a blend of gasoline and ethanol that is 85 percent ethanol, is greater in warm sunny weather than during the cold weather and short days of winter, because heat and sunlight contribute to ozone formation. But E85 produces different byproducts of combustion than gasoline and generates substantially more aldehydes, which are precursors to ozone.
“What we found is that at the warmer temperatures, with E85, there is a slight increase in ozone compared to what gasoline would produce,” said Diana Ginnebaugh, a doctoral candidate in civil and environmental engineering, who worked on the study. She will present the results of the study on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. “But even a slight increase is a concern, especially in a place like Los Angeles, because you already have episodes of high ozone that you have to be concerned about, so you don’t want any increase.”
But it was at colder temperatures, below freezing, that it appeared the health impacts of E85 would be felt most strongly.
“We found a pretty substantial increase in ozone production from E85 at cold temperatures, relative to gasoline when emissions and atmospheric chemistry alone were considered,” Ginnebaugh said. Although ozone is generally lower under cold-temperature winter conditions, “If you switched to E85, suddenly you could have a place like Denver exceeding ozone health-effects limits and then they would have a health concern that they don’t have now.”
The problem with cold weather emissions arises because the catalytic converters used on vehicles have to warm up before they reach full efficiency. So until they get warm, a larger proportion of pollutants escapes from the tailpipe into the air.
There are other pollutants that would increase in the atmosphere from burning E85 instead of gasoline, some of which are irritants to eyes, throats and lungs, and can also damage crops, but the aldehydes are the biggest contributors to ozone production, as well as being carcinogenic.
Ginnebaugh worked with Mark Z. Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering, using vehicle emissions data from some earlier studies and applying it to the Los Angeles area to model the likely output of pollutants from vehicles.
Because E85 is only now beginning to be used in mass-produced vehicles, the researchers projected for the year 2020, when more “flex fuel” vehicles, which can run on E85, will likely be in use. They estimated that vehicle emissions would be about 60 percent less than today, because automotive technology will likely continue to become cleaner over time. They investigated two scenarios, one that had all the vehicles running on E85 and another in which the vehicles all ran on gasoline.
Running a widely used, complex model involving over 13,000 chemical reactions, they did repeated simulations at different ambient temperatures for the two scenarios, each time simulating a 48-hour period. They used the average ozone concentrations during each of those periods for comparison.
They found that at warm temperatures, from freezing up to 41 degrees Celsius (give F conversion), in bright sunlight, E85 raised the concentration of ozone in the air by up to 7 parts per billion more than produced by gasoline. At cold temperatures, from freezing down to minus 37 degrees Celsius, they found E85 raised ozone concentrations by up to 39 parts per billion more than gasoline.
“What we are saying with these results is that you see an increase,” Ginnebaugh said. “We are not saying that this is the exact magnitude you are going to get in a given urban area, because it is really going to vary from city to city depending on a lot of other factors such as the amount of natural vegetation, traffic levels, and local weather patterns.”
Ginnebaugh said the results of the study represent a preliminary analysis of the impact of E85. More data from studies of the emissions of flex fuel vehicles at various temperatures would help refine the estimates, she said.
Paul Livingstone contributed to the study while he was a postdoctoral researcher in civil and environmental engineering. He now works for the California Air Resources Board.
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1.its not gas 2.ethanol can help the world 3.gas is worser than ethaol 4. it is not dangerous 5.its good and bad
1. Ethanol is a renewable fuel that could help the enviroment.
2. Ethanol powered vechicles generate more ozone than powered ones.
3. Ozone works better in warm, sunny weather.
4. Ozone is made from both gasoline & E85, a blend of gasoline and ethanol.
5. E85 is more effective in the winter.
This article is about ethanol-powered vehicles that generate more ozone than gas-powered ones. Ethanol will likely worsen health problems caused by ozone compared with gasoline. This effect is worse in cold weather compared to warm weather. Because catalytic convertors take a while to heat up in cold weather, a large proportion of pollutants escape. Pollutants that increase from burning ethanol can irritate the eyes, throats, and lungs, can damage crops, and can cause cancer as well as increasing ozone production. The results of this study are an early analysis of the impact of ethanol.
Compared to gas, ethanol will probably wosen health problems, caused by ozone.
Ozone production from gasoline and E85 is more likely to happen on warm sunny weather rather than in the winter time.
Health impacts appear more when the tempreture is below freezing.
Problems with cold weather arise when the catalytic converters on cars have to warm up before the vehicle reaches full efficiency.
E85 is raised when it is warm outside.
This article is about ethanol powered vehicles that prevents less gases so the ozone layer wouldn’t be affected as much. Other than gasoline such as things sensitive to the eyes, mouth, and nose. By the year 2020 more cars would run on flex fuel so it can run easier. Mr. Paul was contributed to study while he’s a postdoctoral researcher in engineering and civics!
1.its not gas 2.ethanol can help the world 3.gas is worser than ethaol 4. it is not dangerous 5.its good and bad
This atrice is about how ethonal will worsten gases. It prevents prevents less gases so the ozone wouldnt be affected as much. Health facts appear more when its below freezing.Eathanol is not the best during the winter timee. When it is warm out side it raises the ethenol and makes it work better. The reason is because the ozon works better in warm sunny weather.
Ethanol often promoted as a clean-burning, renewable fuel that could help the nation from oil. Ozone production from both gasoline and E85, a blend of gasoline and ethanol that is 85 percent ethanol, is greater in warm sunny weather than during the cold weather and short days of winter, because heat and sunlight contribute to ozone formation. Because E85 is only now beginning to be used in mass-produced vehicles, the researchers projected for the year 2020, when more “flex fuel” vehicles, which can run on E85, will likely be in use. They found that at warm temperatures, from freezing up to 41 degrees Celsius, in bright sunlight, E85 raised the concentration of ozone in the air by up to 7 parts per billion more than produced by gasoline. Paul Livingstone contributed to the study while he was a postdoctoral researcher in civil and environmental engineering.
hey i didnt put my 5 facks this time but i just wanted to say hey it realt stinks over here hope to see you next year
Ethanol is a renewable fuel that could help the enviroment. Comparing Ethanol to Gas, Ethanol will worsen the health problems. Ozone production from both gasoline and E85 is greater in warm sunny weather than during the cold weather and short days of winter. They found that at warm temperatures, from freezing up to 41 degrees Celsius, in bright sunlight, E85 raised the concentration of ozone in the air by up to 7 parts per billion more than produced by gasoline.Livingstone contributed to the study while he was a postdoctoral researcher in civil and environmental engineering
1.Dec. 15, at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
2.temperatures for the two scenarios, each time simulating a 48-hour period.
3.only now beginning to be used in mass-produced vehicles, the researchers projected for the year 2020
4.We found a pretty substantial increase in ozone production from E85 at cold temperatures,
5.“But even a slight increase is a concern, especially in a place like Los Angeles,
This aticle is about how ethanol often promoted as a clean-burning, renewable fuel that could help wean the nation from oil would likely worsen health problems caused by the ozone compared with gasoline especially in the winter time. This was according to a new study led by Stanford researchers. They found that at the warmer temperatures, with E85, there is a slight increase in ozone compared to what gasoline would produce. They found that at warm temperatures, from freezing up to 41 degrees Celsius in bright sunlight, E85 raised the concentration of ozone in the air by up to 7 parts per billion more than produced by gasoline. The researchers projected for the year 2020, when more “flex fuel” vehicles, which can run on E85, will likely be more in use.
1.E85 is 85% ethanol and the rest is gas.
2.E85 does better in warm, sunny weather than cold weather.
3.E85 can increase the amount of ozone in a certain area.
4.It produced up to 39 parts per billion more ozone than gas at 37 degrees Celsius.
5.In a large city, the increase in ozone could be big and break safety standards.
Ethanol is a type of fuel used for more modern vehicles, it is renewable and good for the environment but it can cause more health issues because of the way it reacts with the ozone.E85 is a good alternative to run vehicles vs. gasoline because it will cause America not to have to lean so much on foreign countries for oil.But when the weather gets cold E85 effects the ozone even more,causing more health issues, and could also damage crops. E85 is a good fuel in terms of the environment but for human beings health and the ozone it is not such a good idea, but researchers have predicted that in 2020, 60 percent of vehicles will be “flex fuel”.
Ethanol is advertised as a renewable clean-burning power source that is often used in newer vehicle models. However, although ethanol is good for the enviroment and could lessen America’s dependence on foreign oil, E85 could cause serious health issues because of the ozone it produces as it burns, especially in winter. Ozone production in ethanol powered cars increases in the winter because of the car engine’s need to warm up before reaching maximum efficiency. Researchers have predicted that in 2020, 60% of vehicles will run on ethanol.
1. the production from both gasoline and E85 is higher in sunny weather than in the cold weather and short days of winter, because heat and sunlight contribute to ozone formation.
2. theres in increase in ozone in warmer weather when using E85 rather than using gasoline.
3. there are more emissions in cold weather because the catalytic converters used on vehicles need warm up before their able to reach full efficiency. Larger proportions of pollutants escape from the tailpipe while trying to warm up.
4. when E85 is used in warmer weather it raised the concentration of ozone in the air by up to 7 parts per billion more than produced by gasoline.
5. when E85 was used in colder weather it raised ozone concentrations by up to 39 parts per billion more than gasoline.
While ethanol seems cleaner, it actually produces aldehydes that can lead to warming. It produces more green house gases than gasoline does, which can affect the temperature and air around us. Ethanol can produce more health hazards when it is cold. This is because it relies on catalytic converters to warm it up in the cold. But ethanol’s emissions would be 60% less than it is today if a certain population shifted to ethanol.
1. Makes health problems worse caused by ozone.
2. In warmer temps E85 gives off more ozone than gasoline.
3. At colder temps are where the negative health affects of E85 is felt the most.
4. In colder temps the catalytic converter doesn’t have time to warm up and be efficient.
5. In 2020 they expect more flex fuel vehicles to be on the road and E85 improved greatly.