Yahoo Autos What is E15 gas? Some FAQs answered
In an attempt to lower gasoline prices, President Biden announced that the federal rule against selling E15 in the summer months will be lifted in an attempt to lower gasoline prices. Here are some common questions — and answers, of course — about the temporary rule change.
What is E15?
Ethanol is a renewable ethyl alcohol fuel produced from a variety of plant materials. E15 is a fuel blend of 15 percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline. Other gasoline-ethanol blends use similar terminology. E10 (gasoline with 10 percent ethanol mixed in) is common throughout the U.S., and some stations sell E85 (which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent fossil fuel gasoline; it takes a specially built engine to burn E85).
Has E15 been sold in the summer before?
CNN reports that before 2011, the federal government didn’t have any rules in place limiting the sale of E15 during warmer months. The last time the summer blend rule was paused was in 2019 as part of the Trump administration’s trade war with China. A panel of federal judges later blocked that pause, and the Biden administration was quick to point out differences between the two pauses — which do seem awfully similar in effect, if not in purpose — because the current situation is a response to a fuel supply emergency and not simply a way to try and boost ethanol sales.
