Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

catalytic convenors - ' m o st of the vehicles on the roads toda y - the us e of gasoline enhanced with aromatics will increase th e smog-forming potential of the ex ha ust gasses. The o bvio us question is will the m ajor oil refineries in cr ea se th e level of aromatics in gasoline to boost th e o ctane rating? U nd ers ta nda bly , th e m ajor o i l co m panies a re relu ct ant to talk a bo u t th e exact chemica l co m posi tio n of th e th eir gaso line produc ts - especi a lly wher e the question o f a ir pollution is co ncern ed . However , th e Rho-Chern co rpora tion of Los Angeles is a bulk industri al su p p lier of both toluene a n d xyl ene, a nd expec ts th ose aromatics to be in sh a n su p p ly beginning in July. The reasons? The EPA 's 0.5 gpg ceiling o n g asoli ne lead concentration , (w h ic h begins in July), a nd the oi l refineri es' in cr eased use o f aromatics in gaso line. The a lcohol threat Believe it or n ot, th e whole question of air pollution pales in co m pa rison to th e cu rrent co n seq uence o f th e EPA 's proposed lead phase-out: a lcohol. Ri ght n ow, today , in so me sta tes it is vinuall y impossibl e to bu y gasoli ne th at d oesn 't co n ta in alcohol. Al cohol turns up in ga so li ne in o ne of tw o forms: ethanol o r m et h a n o l. In either form , alco hol will boost gaso line 's oc ta ne ra tin g . Ethanol is m ade from co rn o r o ther g rai n s - th is is th e type of a lco hol. tha t's th e desirable ingred ient in Bu d weiser a nd J ack Dan iels. In the la te 19 70s, a nation wid e t ue l shor tage p rompted resea rch into th e devel o p m ent o f e th a no l as a n a lterna tive fu el. It was found th a t gasol in e co u ld withstand a bout a 10% co ncentra tio n of etha nol and still pe rfo r m accep tabl y a s a m o tor fu el. T he gove rnmen t set 10% as th e m ax imu m a llowa ble co ncen tra tio n o f etha no l as a gaso line a d d i rive, a nd m ost sta tes d rafted reg ul at ions that this hybrid fuel be so ld from pumps labeled gasaho l. But gasahol had so m e probl ems. First , alcohol onl y ge nera tes a bo u t half th e power of gasoline. More important, at low temperatures, al cohol doesn 't vaporize as well as gasa line - which led to hard starting and prolonged eng ine warm-up. However, the rea l problem with gasahol was simple economics: a gal Ion of ethanol cost more than a galIon of gasoline. Whil e ethanol could reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil sources, it was cheaper for the oil refineries to produce pure gasoline. Initiall y, the government offered substantial tax advantages to refineries producing gasahol , but as the fuel shortage of the 1970s subsided, these tax breaks wer e eliminated. Consumer s were unwilling to pay more for an inferior product, and gasahol is n ow lillie m ore than a memory in most regi ons o f the co u n try. The o ther kind o f a lco hol us ed as an octane-boosting ad di tive is m ethanol. Methanol is genuinely nast y stuff, a nd ca n d issolve fu el lines, 0rings a nd o ther ca r b u re tor pans . In fact, methanol is volatile e no ug h to erod e a lu m in u m . Surprisingly, methanol is findin g its wa y into ga soline. Wh y? Methanol ca n be made from petroleum, co a l or natural ga s, a nd right now there's a worldwide su rp lus of natural ga s. The bottom line is co st: in bulk, met hanol co sts about 42 cents a ga lIo n , Blending methano l with gasoline - in co ncentra tio ns up to 10% - can incr eas e profits a t th e refining. di stributing or even at individual filling station level s. And, unl ik e e th a no l-ba sed gasa hol, m ost s ta tes d on 't re q u ire that th e pumps be labeled to show m ethanol has been add ed to gasoline. When added to gas o line in low co ncen tra tio n s, m ethanol 's co rrosive ch a racteris tics ca n be held in check. The problem is th e manner in whi ch m ethanol bo nds to gaso line. Wh ere th e e tha nol used in gasa hol for med a relati vely st ro n g c h e m ica l bo n d , methanol mixes with gasoline to form a ver y weak bond. In fact, m ethanol would m uch rat h er bond to a no ther co mmon su bstan ce: water. If water is intro duced into a gasoli ne co nta in ing m etha n ol , th e m ethan ol breaks a way fro m the g asoline a nd bonds directl y to the water m ol ecul es. Chemist s ca ll th is falling oul of susp ensio n. Wh en th is happens. th e m ethanol/wa ter co m bina ti on sin ks to th e bo ttom of th e tank - right wher e th e petcock feed s fu el to th e engine. For a tw o- stroke e ngine, th is ca n m ean ca tas tro p hic eng ine failure; both through piston seizure a n d damage to the m ain bearings. Pre-mix oi l will stay in sus pe n sion with th e gasolin e, whi ch floats a bo ve th e water / m ethanol mixture. Wi thoutlubricating o il. th e eng ine will run (sp u tte r) bri efl y o n th e methanol befo re grinding to a halt. On a fou r-st roke road bike, th is co u ld m ean th a t w hen th e percock is Hipped o nto reserve. th e eng in e mi ght end u p with no th in g m ore th a n wa ter a nd m e tha no l . .. a nd it co u ld be a long p ush to th e next sta tion . H ow much wa ter does it take to m ake th e m e th ano l fall o u t o f susp en sion ? Surprisin gl y lill ie : tw o ten th s of o ne perce nt (0.2%) wa ter. by vo l urn e, wi ll do the trick. In a 2.5ga llon gas ta n k, fill ed with ga so l in e that con ta ins 10% m ethanol (n o t un co m mon ), th at m eans that less than one ou nce o f water ca n bo ot a quart of m etha no l o u t o f suspension a nd stra ig h t to th e bottom o f th e ta n k! Th is si tu atio n is agg ra va ted by m e tha nol's th ir st fo r water - h ydrosco pic is th e term used by ch em is ts. The h yd ro sco p ic nature o f me th anol m ean s th at th e stu ff will a bso r b wa ter ri ght o u t of the a ir: storage in a vented gas tank or ga s ca n m ean s th at a gaso li ne / me thano l blend will ultimatel y a bsorb en o ug h wat er to drop the m ethanol from su spen sio n. This spells doom for a motorcycle that is only ridden occasionally . So how ca n yo u be sure that the stuff yo u' re buying from the corner gas station doesn 't co n ta in methanol? You ca n ' t. Some of the m ajor oil co m p a n ies hav e publicly pledged that they do not blend either e tha nol or methanol into their gasoline; but th at d oesn 't prevent the individual d eal er from real izing the profit s to be had by c utti ng gasoline with m ethanol. The major oil companies a ttempt to e n force that their d eal ers o n ly sell th eir brand o f fuel - but few co ns u m e rs real ize that i ndividual d ealers a re free to purch as e fuel from a ny so u rce a n d sell it as th ey choose. T h e o n ly sure wa y to d eterm in e if th ere's a lco ho l in gasoline is to test it yourself. R igh t now, th e d ollar is strong o n the internat io na l m arket , a nd m an y o verseas refineries hav e begun im pan ing ga so line. G asoline broker s sell th is fuel to d ist ributors on speci- ' [icat ion : wh ich m ean s th e d escr ipti on goes as far as oc ta ne rat ing a nd lead co n tent. Th is imported gas olin e primaril y co mes from Ch in a, G er m an y a nd Romania , w he re m ethanol is a bu nd a n t a nd ch ea p : imported gasoli ne is alm ost a sure be t for co ntain in g m ethanol. Ar co is th e fir st m aj o r refiner y to p roduce a gaso li ne th at 's ad vert ised as co nt a i n ing m e th an ol ; a product ca lled O x i no l th at 's m a rk e ted in Pennsylvan ia a nd western Ne w York. Ox in ol co ntai ns o n ly a bo u t 5% metha no l. wi th ~ !l?~~~r ~'lf> . co mprised .~ f . speci a l co -so lve nts to i m prove m etha no l' s bonding to gaso line. Ar co is cert ai n that Oxinol will ca use no long -term engine d amag e, but a ll m ot orc ycl e m anufa cturer s warn ag a ins t u si ng gaso li ne th at co n ta i ns an y m et ha n ol. The fut ure of g a s o line Wha t sta r ted w it h th e EP A's co n vict io n to rid th e a tmosp here o f lea d h as en d ed up as a ver y co m p lex a nd un sure sta te o f affairs a t th e lo ca l fill ing stati o n . T here's no d oubt th at remo vin g som e o f th e lead from g asoline is a good thing; lead is poisonous in a nv form , a nd th e world ' s a trnos p heri c lead co ncentra tio n has in cr ea sed a th ousand-fold since th e introduct ion o f tetraeth yl lead, But beyond th at point , th e p icture is co ns ide ra bly cloudi er. The add iti on o f aroma tics m a y present a much m ore serio us polluti on co ncern than lead. If so , th e EPA is in a po siti on to ban th e o ffe nd in g a ro m a tics from g aso line as well. If th e EPA suc ceeds in banning lead from gas o line o n J anuary I , 1988 as planned , th ere's little ch a nce th at th ey will rescind th at d eci sion - in spite o f th e future po ll u tio n im pact o f arom at ics. T h e worst ca se sce nario? Lead is ba n ned , a ro m a tics are ba n ned, a nd gaso lin e ca n o n ly be so ld as it's cracked at th e ref inery . . . with a n oc ta ne ra ti ng of about 75. Try to run your su per bike o n that stu££! .In th e m eant im e. o ne th ing is ce rtai n : met ha no l is bad for m o torcycl es - the o n ly a dva n tage being th a t a m ethan ol -e nhanced fuel co u ld be a few pen n ies p er ga llon ch ea pe r th an p ure gasol ine. Wha t are th e best wa vs to m inimi ze yo ur c ha nces o f ge ll ing a ta n k o f g aso line sp iked with m eth an ol ? Lo o k fo r a m aj or br a nd of gaso l ine wh ere th e refi n er h as p ledged that their product co nta in s n o m et ha nol. A cha rt sho wi n g w h ich manufacturer s sell m ethanol-enhan ced gaso li ne beco mes dated as soon a s it 's printed ; th e m aj o r o il ref in eries a re co ns ta nt ly looking for wa ys to lower product ion costs. Once yo u ' ve settled o n a brand th at (this week ) claims not to add m etha no l, take a good lo o k at th e station where it' s so ld . Look for a d ealer who is dedicated to th at brand o f product , who a lso sell s th eir oil , tires, batteries, and so on. Best bet is to purcha se gas a t o ne of the ref inery-own ed selfserve sta tio ns - where th ere's no c ha nce th at an independent owner wa s tempted to add m ethanol o n his o wn . Testing for methanol The only sure way to know that the gasoline you 're using doesn't con t a in methano l is to test it you rself. Fortunately, this is fai rly easy to do - the idea is to take advantage of the fact that methanol bonds to water better t ha n it stays in suspension with gasoli ne . 1 . Find a g lass container t hat ' s tall and sk inny - a grad uated cylinder used by chemists is ideal, and is avai lable at ho bby shops, chemical s upply houses and some better-stocked camera shops. Something that holds about 500cc (abo ut a , hal f-quart) w ill work ju st fine. 2. Fill t he cyl inder a bo ut 2 0 % w it h ordina ry ta p w ater - t he exact amount is n't c rit ic al - and ca r efully m a rk the Things ma y cha nge; hopefull y sta te or federal regulati ons will m ak e it m andatory for gasolin e pumps to be clearl y marked as to th eir co nt ents . . , just 'Iike breakfast cerea l a nd d iet soda-p o p . T he EPA is still co ns id ering wh ether to co m p letely ba n lead ed gasoline, a nd o w ners of m ot orcycl es th a t need lead shou ld def'initelv write to the EP A a nd sta te their needs. • A lesson in how ,g o v ern m ent thinks: ...- The price of • pain How much is a vo id ing a minor co ugh worth? According to th e" EPA, it's worth precisel y $2.31 a da y. In the course of esta blishin g limits o n lead level s in co nsu m er gaso line , th e EPA ran a cos t-benefit a na lysis a n d es tima ted what would be saved by a reducti on o f lead in gasol ine ; th e a na lysis looked at th e value. o f improving the health o f ch ild ren , low erin g th e bloo d pressu re.of ad u lt s, red ucing a tmosp her ic co nta m ina tio n, reduci ng th e need for a u to mai n tenance a nd impro vem ents in fu el eco no m v. T he El' A'sbo tto m lin e? By lowe r in g th e m ax imum a mou nt o f lea d in a ga llon of ga soline to 0. 1 g ra ms, America n society will sa ve a n estimated 7,474, 000,000 in 19S7. In th e course -of co m ing u p wi th this fig u re, th e E PA estim a ted how rnan v muffler s wo u ld ha ve to be rep laced as a resu lt of th e co rrosi ve effects of lead deposi ts - they fig ured a new m u ffler everv 30, 000 m iles was a bou t ri g h l. . Med ical treatmen t a nd hospit al izati o n rel at ed to lead -ca used co nd i tions wa s ea sy. For sit ua tions wh ere ex pos u re to lead ca uses a wo rk er to be sid eli ne d in bed at h o m e, th e E PA ca lc u la tes 80 wag es lost pe r da y, a no ther $20 in miscellaneous m ed ica l ex p enses per da y. For workers still o n th e j ob but irritated by lead in th e a tm o sp here, th e EPA has as signe d a cos t to soc iety o f $2.3 1 per da y for m inor co ug h ing, $4 .90 for minor sho rt ness of br eath , a n d $8. 17 for minor h ead co ngestio n . H eadach es a n d eye irritation ca m e in a t $3.00 per day. Which, acco rdi ng to th e EPA 's figuring, m eans a worker with a headache, watery eyes ; a co ugh and a li tt le head co n gestio n costs soci ety 29.42 per da y. -, water leve l on the s ide of the container. 3 . Fill the cyli nder w ith the gasoline sample in question, and cap the cy linder. Shake t he mixture t horoug hly. 4 , Let the cyl inder stand for a minute, and check the water le vel. If m et ha nol was present in t he gasoline, it will have bonded t o the water, and will appear to in cr ease the water level. The gasoline w ill float on top of the water, That's it: an inc rea s e in the apparent water level (now water and alcohol) means there's a lco hol present in the gasoline sample, and t hat you don 't want it in your motorcycle . Remember, th is is no g uarantee that t he re won 't be methanol in future gasoline sam ples; even from t he same pump at th e s am e station. ~ • .1 tI I C # I 35

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