More on Ethanol

In the January issue of Power & Motoryacht, Capt. Patrick Sciacca chronicled two boaters’ adventures with ethanol gasoline (Encounters With Ethanol). In 2003, several states switched from traditional methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to a fuel blend containing 10 percent ethanol (E10)—with many arguing that the move will help reduce our dependency on foreign oil. However, Sciacca’s article detailed how E10 can also erode fiberglass fuel tanks and rubber hoses.

Now the Marine Retailers Association of America (MRAA) has taken a stand on the issue. Its board of directors recently approved a resolution supporting “all efforts to retain current federal ethanol gasoline additive standards of E10 and oppose any attempts to increase additive levels beyond that level due to the destructive nature of ethanol to marine engine systems and the resulting safety considerations to vessel passengers.”

The resolution was one of several given to the MRAA by the Advisory Council of Marine Associations at MRAA’s annual convention this past November.

Ethanol Lawsuit

If a federal class-action lawsuit filed earlier this week eventually succeeds, Big Oil will pay big bucks for what the plaintiffs claim is deliberate misinformation regarding ethanol.

The suit seeks to represent boat owners who have fiberglass fuel tanks and who filled them with ethanol-blended gasoline from a California retailer. The suit also seeks to represent all California residents who own boats with a fiberglass fuel tank that had to be replaced because of damage caused by ethanol-blended gasoline bought from a California retailer.

Kabateck Brown Kellner, the lead firm on the case, claims that when Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was banned in many states in 2004 because of environmental concerns, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and other oil companies selected ethanol as an octane-booster replacement. However, the lawsuit further states, consumers weren't educated about the differences between MTBE and ethanol-mixed gasoline, nor were they informed about "the disastrous effects ethanol has on fiberglass marine fuel tanks." Ethanol dissolves the resin and therefore the tank, and eventually the boat's engine and other systems are affected, since the dissolved resin enters the fuel system.

The lawsuit also states that ethanol-blended gasoline harms the environment due to phase separation, in which water attracted by ethanol remains in the bottom of the fuel tank while the gasoline floats to the top. "The environment pays the price for Exxon and Chevron's deception each time a damaged fuel tank leaks gasoline into the water," says Brian Kabateck, managing partner of Kabateck Brown Kellner.

BP, Shell, Valero, Tesoro, ConocoPhillips, Tower Energy, PetroDiamond, and Big West were also named in the lawsuit.