Using E20 fuel, which blends 20 per cent ethanol with gasoline, reduces the exhaust pipe emissions of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide compared with traditional gasoline or E10 blends, according to a new study.The Centre for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology, US, also found no measurable impact to vehicle drivability or maintenance in conventional internal combustion engines.Brian Hilton, senior staff engineer at the centre, said currently, numerous commercially available gasoline brands contain ten per cent ethanol.`There have been concerns raised that any increase in blend would negatively impact standard internal combustion engines, however our data shows that vehicle performance remained constant, while carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions were decreased even over E10 blends,` he added.Researchers worked with the County of Monroe, New York, to test the use of E20 in ten older gasoline vehicles that were designed for ethanol fuel mixtures.The fleet showed an average emissions reduction for carbon monoxide of 23 per cent and a 13 per cent reduction for hydrocarbon emissions.This month, three UK universities were awarded funding to look into the possibility of using porous materials to turn carbon emissions into car fuel, IBTimes.co.uk reported.

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