Ethanol-Powered Vehicles Generate More Ozone Than Gas-Powered Ones

ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2009)

Ethanol -- often promoted as a clean-burning, renewable fuel that could help wean the nation from oil -- would likely worsen health problems caused by ozone, compared with gasoline, especially in winter, according to a new study led by Stanford researchers.

Ozone production from both gasoline and E85, a blend of gasoline and ethanol that is 85 percent ethanol, is greater in warm sunny weather than during the cold weather and short days of winter, because heat and sunlight contribute to ozone formation. But E85 produces different byproducts of combustion than gasoline and generates substantially more aldehydes, which are precursors to ozone.

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