Snow and air quality get dirtier as winter settles in, but ethanol blends can help. | Better Fuel Snow and air quality get dirtier as winter settles in, but ethanol blends can help. - MNFuels

Snow and air quality get dirtier as winter settles in, but ethanol blends can help.

Snow and air quality get dirtier as winter settles in, but ethanol blends can help.

January 7th, 2020

Do you think the air is cleaner in the summer or winter here in Minnesota? You might be surprised.

If you’re stuck in an overcrowded city in the middle of a hot and humid summer day with cars whizzing by, you might think the air you’re breathing is less than desirable (and it is). But winter days in Minnesota can sometimes actually have worse air quality. This is due to a little thing called temperature inversion.

Temperature Inversion

Basically, during cold, calm winter nights, warm air escaping the earth gets trapped between different layers of cool air in the atmosphere. The air pollution also gets trapped in this layer of warm air. This means pollutants from homes, industrial facilities and vehicle exhaust circulates near the surface, creating poor air quality. If you or anyone you know has breathing problems, the winter months can exacerbate them when the conditions are right.

What can you do to help?

Have you ever noticed that the snow in the middle of a corn field stays cleaner longer than the snow near the road? Of course, that has to do with being farther away from tailpipes, plows, and road salt, but it almost seems symbolic for how ethanol from corn reduces emissions in vehicles.

Ethanol is a Clean Air Choice® that can be used year-round in vehicles. Ethanol is blended and used as E10 (87 octane gasoline), E15 (88 octane gasoline), E85 or any blend in between. This biofuel emits significantly less carbon dioxide and ozone-forming pollutants and evaporative emissions in the air, reducing the burden of poor air quality in the winter months.

If you drive a flex fuel vehicle (FFV), you can still use E85 and mid-blends in cold temperatures. According to the Department of Energy, the ethanol content is adjusted at the beginning of the season to enhance cold-start and warm-up performance. The amount of ethanol in E85 varies from 51-83% in Minnesota, depending on the season. This means E85 is adjusted to keep your car ready to roll year-round whatever the weather.

All cars model year 2001 or newer are approved to use, and can find, E15/88 octane available year-round in Minnesota. You can find a station that carries all ethanol blends here.

It is so easy to select a Clean Air Choice when you’re at the pump, and when doing so, you can help the air be a little cleaner this winter.