E85 for shop solvent?

Just interested - where are you that they're selling that? Here in Nothern New Jersey, I haven't seen E anything other than a trace (where they don't mention a percentage).

In one shope where I worked, we used straight ethanol (had a customer who drove a chemical truck) for almost everything, right up to dumping a pint or so on an icy windshield. THe stuff was free (to us), and worked pretty well, though not quite as well as lac

Just interested - where are you that they're selling this stuff? around here (northern NJ), I don't see E-anything, other than a trace that doesn't specify a percentage.

When I was in the service, the Govt bought 95% ETOH for 26 =A2 a gallon in 55 gal stainless drums. Figures out to 2.5 =A2 a fifth for 90 proof vodka. The rest is bottling profit and tax.. Joel in Florida

Sacramento Valley

Under $2.00/gal in some parts of MN.

Except that solvent ethanol is usually NOT safe to drink. The 95% might well be pure ETOH, but the other 5% can be benzene, MEOH, and other nasty compounds. Unless it has a tax stamp on it, I wouldn't drink it. Our lab used to require the occasional 95% ETOH, the good stuff came in a glass bottle, with a tax stamp. I was told that the 200 proof stuff is still not safe, the only way to clear the last of the water is to wash it with benzene, and there are traces of that left behind.

Not WASHED, DISTILLED with benzene. An azeotrope occurs at about 95% ethanol/5% water and that's as good as you get with straight distillation. Adding benzene makes a trinary mixture with the water and ethanol and changes the boiling point of same. There are other methods of creating water-free ethanol, like running the stuff over a non-reactive dessicant. Just depends on the final use of the absolute ethanol. The other problem is that ethanol doesn't like to stay water- free.

Stan

I would be as concerned with using that product as a solvent as I would gasoline. It's not worth the risk of burning down the shop or house. when Stoddard solvent can be used with relative safety.

They sell it here in Chehalis, Washington as well. Much cheaper than gasoline, but also much lower in energy yield, so I understand.

Harold

It HAS to be about half the price of Gasoline to be close in cost per mile.

Some may find it surprising that the energy content per gram of gasoline is about 10 times that of TNT.