Commercial petroleum-derived additives do not improve lubricity. Suppes said the researchers target the retail cost of their additive at 40 cents per gallon when manufactured at a commercial production level. Currently used additives cost more. In addition, Suppes said the value of the new additive exceeds its cost value because of the benefit of lubricity. Plus soybean oil-based additives are a renewable resource.
Ethanol fuel is manufactured from corn and grain sorghum.
Ethanol production is the third largest user of corn in the U.S., behind feed and export uses, according to a report submitted at the Midwestern Governors' Conference. The use of these fuels has a positive impact because they are cleaner burning, they reduce our dependency on imported crude oil, and they can stimulate farm economies. Diesel engines are typically 30 percent more efficient than gas engines. If you're going to use ethanol, it's by far more advantageous to use it in a more efficient engine because ethanol costs more. Suppes notes that the cost to consumers of cars and trucks with deisel engines makes them unpopular, but they don't have to be more expensive.