Availability of Ethanol-Blended Gasoline

Mark Antle

Penn State

As most of you probably already know, ethanol is now being used as an octane enhancer in some blends of gasoline. Car manufacturers typically endorse up to a 10% ethanol blend as a suitable oxygenate for their existing cars. Another blend, E-85, uses 85% ethanol in it’s formulation, but this is not a suitable blend for the average automobile on the road today. A small number of "Flexible Fuel Vehicles" - mostly government vehicles – are on the road and are successfully running on the E-85 blend. The flexible fuel vehicles may play a big role in the future, but for now, the majority of us will have to settle for the 10% blend.

A major portion of the ethanol being used in gasoline blends is derived from corn. Therefore, as supporters of the corn industry many of you have been making a conscious effort to purchase ethanol-enhanced gasoline when possible. The problem is, most retail outlets do not yet offer the ethanol blend. Two exceptions to this are the Sunoco and Getty companies.

Currently, Sunoco is offering a blend containing up to 10% ethanol. Most of the Sunoco outlets selling the ethanol blend are located in central and western PA. A representative from Sunoco also said some outlets in Maryland and West Virginia are offering ethanol-blended gasoline on a limited basis.

The Getty Petroleum Company did not respond to our inquiry, but they have a number of stations in and around the Harrisburg and Carlisle regions. Individuals not affiliated with the company have informed us that some of these Getty outlets sell fuel that utilizes an ethanol blend – reportedly lower than the 10% blend.