David Mann
CNHI News Service
September 07, 2008 03:00 am <Caption>Charles Holland currently uses a fuel mixture, which is 98 percent ethanol, in his 1978 Corvette.</Caption> NEW ALBANY, Ind. — It came to Charles Holland one day as he was watching drag racing. A gear head by nature, the New Albany, Ind., resident knew that the crews in those races used ethanol and methanol blends in order to achieve the horsepower they desired. "I thought, if they make ethanol that can make these cars get 7,000 to 8,000 horsepower, why can't we use a couple hundred on the streets." Not unlike the wheels on the pavement of the drag-racing track, the wheels in his brain began to spin on that thought. And today, the product of that thought process is what makes the wheels on his 1978 Chevrolet Corvette do the same: Spin. Holland is now waiting for word back on a patent he's applied for on a new ethanol blended fuel he's created. It's about 98 percent corn-based ethanol, about 2 percent regular gasoline. It also has another organic ingredient, which he says works to counteract the ethanol's oxidizing effects and make it less harmful to a vehicle's engine parts. The extra ingredient in the mixture is not being publicized now in order not to complicate his attempt in patenting the product. He first tried it on a lawnmower. After he saw that it worked, he took a bigger risk and gave it a shot in a 1965 Corvette. "I knew it was going to work," he said. According to Holland, the fuel runs cooler and cleaner than traditional gasoline. And unlike the E-85 ethanol blend currently on the market, he believes most newer vehicles will need no engine adjustment in order to use the fuel. Older vehicles with carburetors, rather than computerized fuel injection systems, would need only minor adjustments, he said. Holland said he's tried talking to his elected officials about the fuel, but they've so far shown no interest in it. Longtime friend and business partner David Moore believes it's because Congress is currently beholden to special interests, such as the oil industry. When and if the patent is secured, the two are hoping to get the product mass-produced. He's OK with selling the patent as long as it doesn't go to someone who would simply sit on it and never have it manufactured. The two acknowledge that ethanol is not without its problems. Contaminants run off from the fertilizer used on corn and grocery prices rise when corn is used for ethanol rather than food, he admits. However, he argues that those issues are fixable. "Ethanol might not be the answer," he said, "but ethanol will work with what we have now. "It's today's answer." David Mann writes for The Evening News in Jeffersonvile, Ind.
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