1997 Ford Taurus Flex Fuel Vehicle Supplement 1st Printing - Page 16

Servicing your vehicle WHAT IS FUEL ETHANOL (ED85) Pure ethanol is the alcohol which is the intoxicating agent in liquor, beer and wine. It is distilled from the fermentation of plants such as field corn and sugar cane. When ethanol is used in the making of motor fuels, a small amount of a bad tasting chemical is added to discourage beverage use. The resulting fuel feedstock is called Ed100 meaning 100% pure ethanol diluted by 2% to 5% gasoline as the "denaturant". Fuel ethanol (Ed85) is then made by adding 15% more unleaded gasoline. The resulting fuel also has a higher octane rating than unleaded regular gasoline and other properties which allow engine designs with greater efficiency and power. As with fuel methanol, winter blends may contain up to 30% unleaded gasoline (25% plus the denaturant) to enhance cold engine starts. Severely cold weather may require additional measures for reliable starting. This supplement contains specific information for starting under these conditions. Like methanol, ethanol is more chemically active than gasoline. It too corrodes some metals and causes some plastic and rubber components to swell, break down or become brittle and crank, especially when mixed with gasoline. The same special materials and procedures developed for the Taurus Methanol FFV are used in the Taurus Ethanol FFV. Ethanol also has less energy per gallon, so fuel economy in miles per gallon will decrease as the percentage of ethanol goes up. However, the decrease is not as severs as with methanol. U.S. government regulations require fuel ethanol dispensing pumps to have a small square orange and black label with the common abbreviation for the fuel such as: "E85" above the mid-line and the words "MINIMUM xx% ETHANOL" below the mid-line. The "xx%" is replaced with either "70%" or "85%" as appropriate for the region. 16