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There have been several articles in national boating
publications that have shed more light on the problem and have
offered suggestions to owners of boats on how to cope with the E10
blend.
To begin with, it should be recognized that ethanol
is essentially grain alcohol, like vodka. It is added to gasoline as
a safe replacement for MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether) -- a known
carcinogen -- that had been used to replace lead.
Ethanol is an oxygen-enriched octane booster that's
required by today's high-compression engines. However, unlike its
predecessors, ethanol is a solvent that can weaken older rubber fuel
lines and gaskets, dissolve the varnish and sludge found in many
fuel tanks, and even begin to dissolve the fuel tanks if they are
made of polyester resin fiberglass.
Once these dissolved materials in the fuel reach a
boat's engine they tend to accumulate and lead to sticky valves,
bent pushrods, and damaged pistons.
Because E10 has been generally accepted nationally
as the most likely fuel for the foreseeable future, most boating
magazines are now prompting their readers to upgrade their boats to
deal with its inherent properties.
Among their recommendations are replacing old
gaskets, fuel lines and even certain fuel tanks. They also advise
replacing conventional fuel filters with 10-micron fuel / water separator filters and
funnels, and to empty fuel tanks before boats are put into
storage.
Yes, boaters should be concerned about using E10,
but primarily if they own boats more than 15 years old and haven't
taken the necessary steps to make their vessels compatible with its
use.
Ethanol E10 Story
New Fuel Is Arriving at Pumps Across the
Country
The sale of ethanol blended fuel, commonly
referred to as E10 gas, is on the rise in the US as more states are
mandating it's use to help improve air quality. Also promoting the
growth of E10 is the need to phase out the current additive MTBE
which has been found to contaminate ground water supplies. E10 gas
has been in use for many years and with smart fuel management
boaters can learn to live with it. The Side-Effects of Ethanol
The first problems encountered with
transitioning to E10 is the loosening of sludge from the fuel tanks.
Ethanol is a very effective solvent and it will attack varnish, gum,
and resins: the sludge that can build up in fuel tanks. Once cleaned
off the fuel tank walls this build up leads to poor performance and
frequently clogged fuel filters and injectors. The enzymes in Star
Tron® will safely break down and disperse this sludge. After a
filter change or two the fuel tanks will be clean and boaters can
move on the next, more serious, ethanol related issue...
Understanding Phase
Separation
Ethanol has a great
affinity for water, and will attract moisture from the atmosphere
through the vented lines of a marine fuel tank. The water molecules
form an electro-chemical bond with the ethanol that is stronger than
the fuel’s original bond with the ethanol. Water is heavier then gas
so the water/ethanol molecule is dragged to the bottom of the tank
and separates from the more buoyant fuel molecules. This is referred
to as phase separation and occurs when the water content in the fuel
reaches roughly .05%. Ethanol provides a significant boost to the
octane rating of the fuel, so when phase separation occurs you end
up with a corrosive water/ethanol layer on the bottom of the tank,
under what is now substandard fuel.
Preventing Water-Related Engine
Damage
In a boat that is being used regularly, Star
Tron® prevents most phase separation that occurs from daily
condensation. By neutralizing the electrical charges between water
molecules in a process called de-ionization, Star Tron® prevents the
water molecules from forming huge clusters, large enough to form
drops, and settle, taking the ethanol with it. The octane
rating and the combustion characteristics of the gas are protected,
and the suspended water molecules are harmlessly burned along with
the fuel. In order to understand this process, start by
understanding that water does not exist in nature as its textbook
single molecule, (H2O). Water consists of hundreds of water
molecules bound together in huge “macro-clusters” which are much
larger than a fuel molecule. Star Tron®’s enzymes break the electric
bonding that holds these macro-clusters together, reducing the
molecular size of the water cluster sufficiently to where
microscopic amounts are suspended harmlessly in the gas.
Not All Additives Are
Equal
A new breed of fuel additives has recently
cropped up to capitalize on ethanol-blended fuel problems. These
additives are known as emulsifiers. Ironically, some of them are
made of ethanol or isopropyl alcohol, or one of the many alcohol
cousins. Some emulsifying products will use chemicals such as
“ethanolamides” (or anolamides), which are basically just common
detergents.
Adding More Alcohol Isn’t The
Solution
Alcohol has been used by boating consumers for
years to “dry” out gas, but that was when gas was all gas. E10
already has a huge amount of alcohol in it, and adding more can
cause operational problems and increase the water problem. Adding
additional alcohol can also violate the EPA regulations on limits of
oxygenates (alcohol) allowed in the fuel, as well as the ASTM fuel
specifications. The EPA sets those limits to prevent damage to the
engine. Today, all engine manufacturers have certified their new
engines on a maximum of 10% ethanol. Any additive taking the fuel
over 10% alcohol may void your warranty.
Why You Want to Avoid
Emulsifiers
Before using a fuel additive, review the
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by the manufacturer to
determine if they contain any alcohols or other harmful waterbonding
components. Adding more alcohol to E10 fuel is not the solution and
in fact can compound the problems as emulsifiers have a long history
of causing engine damage. These additives have the ability to absorb
their own volume in water, thus allowing more macro water clusters
to bond with the fuel. These "new" additives have been demonstrated
via a neat sideshow trick in which water is added to gas in a test
tube. The two fluids separate, and by adding the emulsifier and
violently shaking the test tube, the water appears to vanish. In
reality the water still exists. What emulsified water can do to an
engine can be far worse than the original problem. Water, when
sucked into an engine in volume, will shut it down. It must be
cleaned, and the oil changed, but little else happens. Emulsified
water/ethanol causes a more serious problem because instead of
shutting down, the mixture can be partially combusted, but not
effectively, which can damage the engine. Therefore, a mixture of
water and ethanol is worse than just water. When emulsified water
runs through an engine over a period of time, it causes excessive
abrasion and wear, corrosion, and the emulsifier alone causes
excessive carbon deposits, which cause wear on rings, pistons, and
valves.
Water In The Engine
Causes Many Problems
Emulsified water in the fuel
can have several negative effects. Water displaces gasoline, which
lubricates the fuel pump. Water pits and corrodes the plated metal
surfaces causing premature wear on the fuel pump. Water reacts with
various components in the fuel and forms acids, which corrode the
fuel injector tips as well. Water/gas emulsions were tested by the
SAE with ethanol, and they eat the plating off the pump’s internal
moving surfaces. (SAE 2005-01-2196, Rovai, Tanaka, Sinatora)
Bonding Water To Gas Causes More
Problems Than It Solves
This is just the effect the wetted fuel has. The
real harm comes during combustion. The earliest reference to
experiments with gasoline and water emulsifications (water
chemically bonded to an oil is called an emulsification) we know of
is 1913. Every few years since then, somebody thinks they have
invented the solution to eliminate water from fuel by adding an
emulsifying chemical to gasoline. General Motors conducted a lot of
research back in the 1970s, and more attempts were conducted for a
few years after that. Each time, the deleterious effects of
water/gas emulsions outweighesd any benefits.
Thickened Fuel Can Void Warranties And
Damage Engines
Water emulsions immediately increase the fuel’s
viscosity. Even “micro-emulsions”, that look  to be clear and stable as opposed to the
milky look we generally associate with oil/water emulsions still
thickens the fuel. Thickened fuel can destroy a fuel pump and fuel
injector. The ASTM specifications for fuel viscosity are very tight,
and thickening the fuel with water can take the fuel outside its
specifications, which will void your warranty. How thick is thick?
You can’t tell in the field by looking, unless the emulsification
has turned to gel, which it can do if overdosed. A boater can not be
expected to dose with an emulsifier, for a water level he can’t
assess, and be certain his fuel is still in spec.
Because the emulsified water lowers the flame
temperature in the combustion chamber the combustion efficiency is
greatly reduced and the unburned hydrocarbons soar. This forms
carbon deposits in the engine, especially on the piston crowns and
on the spark plugs. Further, in the General Motors tests, (SAE
760547, Water-Gasoline Fuels, Their Effect on Spark Ignition Engines
Emissions andPerformance, Peters and Stebar) the deposit buildup was
so rapid that the engine had to be disassembled for cleaning
approximately every 20 hours. Additionally, they found shiny black
deposits linked to the emulsifier. They noted the spark plugs were
coated black and appeared wet. Drivability plummeted as well, and
fuel economy suffers in a direct ratio to how much water is in the
fuel. All effects were increased as the water level increases. GM
abandoned their efforts with water in gasoline, as have many others
over the years. They also noted in the GM study they never even
bothered to investigate the lubricity issues or long-term engine
durability, because the performance characteristics were so bad.
Star Tron®’s various enzymes in fact de-emulsify water, which is
exactly what you want for contaminated fuel. The advantage to
removing water in microscopic amounts is that our enzyme technology
is totally harmless to an engine and does not change the ASTM
specifications for fuel. Star Tron® will not remove water from a
glass jar but it will remove the water layer in an operational
boat.
Star Tron: The Solution to Fuel
Concerns
The real Star Tron® advantage goes beyond
just how it eliminates water, or even how it cleans up sludge. Star
Tron® is also a combustion catalyst, improving emissions, including
reducing carbon monoxide, while it increases power and fuel economy.
Star Tron® cleans out combustion chamber carbon deposits, reducing
an engine's octane demand and eliminating engine knock, as well as
cleaning the entire fuel system. Star Tron® disperses
bacteria, breaks down and
safely disperses sludge, varnish, and gum, and outperforms
conventional chemical-based gas stabilizers because Star Tron® not
only prevents new fuel from aging (gasoline can be stabilized for
one year), it can bring back stale fuel. And no product can compete
with the cost effectiveness of Star Tron®.
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