The variety of ethanol fuels available to the consumer has expanded to the point that it can be borderline confusing. Most gasoline in the United States is E10, or 10% ethanol. A mixture of 10% to 15% ethanol (E15) is becoming popular among both customers and fuel retailers. There’s also flex fuel E85, which is 51% to 83% ethanol. And with modern blending pumps, the sky’s the limit, with mixtures of 25% (E25) and 30% (E30) gaining traction.
However, there was a time before ethanol when gasoline contained either tetraethyl lead or, more recently, MTBE to boost octane. When health concerns related to both additives arose, the additives were largely phased out. Ethanol took their place first to boost octane, then to reduce carbon and to support agricultural markets.
Even so, ethanol-free E0 (often called “pure gas” or REC-90) is not extinct. It is uncommon and relatively expensive: usually 20 cents or up to $1 more per gallon than E10, depending upon fuel market dynamics and where and how it is sold to the public.
This is not a product for the average customer, though it could appeal to those who consider themselves purists about the gasoline they purchase, or those who remember the first failed “gasohol” trials in the 1970s. Some customers are more than prepared to pay the extra cost for a range of specialized fueling needs.
Specialty Delivery
While newer engines have synthetic components designed to resist ethanol’s corrosive properties, many older engines still in common use do not. The primary concern involves marine and small-engine applications and typically center on another ethanol property: its ability to absorb water. This can lead to issues such as phase separation (in which the ethanol separates from the gasoline) and an increase in “varnish” and the “gumming” of the fuel system after extended periods of disuse, which can lead to difficulty in starting the engine, lower performance and increased maintenance.
“In general, customers with boats and small engines, such as lawn mowers, are the ones who seek out ethanol-free gasoline,” said Chris Hartman, York, Pennsylvania-based Rutter’s vice president of fuels, advertising and development, among other responsibilities. “In those types of specialty engines, they tend to see better efficiency and lower maintenance costs when they avoid ethanol-blended gasolines. While we don’t sell ethanol-free at every location, we see ethanol-free as a great addition to the standard gasoline and higher-ethanol gasoline offerings.”
Rutter’s sells ethanol-free gasoline at approximately 27 of its 90 retail locations throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. The company dispenses E0 from the dispenser and uses blender pumps to provide higher-ethanol blends.
“I think there’s a market for E0 if you’re one of the few providers in an area,” said Slaton Whatley, director of sales and vice president of retail for Cuthbert, Georgia-based Whatley Oil Co., a full-service distributorship serving Georgia and Alabama that operates 11 Zelmo’s Zip In convenience stores. Whatley oil offers E0 wholesale and from the dispenser at two retail sites. “We always try to find a lot of complementary offerings that you don’t have to make a huge investment in but that can just continue adding incrementally to your profits. You’re never going to retire off it, but it can be a great added product offering.”
Trouble in the Tank
As the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) notes in a statement, “All mainstream manufacturers of power equipment and snowmobiles permit the use of gasoline blended with up to 10% ethanol in their products.”
The power equipment industry’s primary focus is on avoiding the use of E15 and higher blends in these engines. But even if E10 is approved, that does not necessarily mean it is seen as optimal.
Husqvarna, a manufacturer of outdoor power equipment, offers the following statement in a how-to guide on its website: “While E10 fuels are approved for small engine equipment usage, it is not recommended, especially in handheld products.”
“Landscaping businesses have become a key buyer of ethanol-free gas from us over the years,” Whatley said. “Most often, we’re placing tanks on their property and delivering directly to their headquarters, and we also have several that fill up regularly with us at our stations that offer [fill-ups of mowers and gas cans at the pump]. For larger landscaping companies, having peace of mind that their equipment is safe and will stand the test of time is worth the premium price they pay for E0.”
The company also makes the fuel available at its cardlock location.
On the distributor side, Whatley Oil supplies some of its customers with E0.
“They’re both the old-style, three-bay garage convenience stores that still do some full-service fueling for people,” Whatley said. It’s a niche market for these customers, and they’d never buy a tanker load. It’s usually 3,000 or 4,000 gallons at a time.
Missing the Boat?
As with lawn equipment, marine engine manufacturers have increasingly approved E10. As noted on RFA’s website all major marine manufacturers allow E10 gasoline for use in their products.
And as with lawn care equipment, approved does not always mean recommended. Mercury Marine, in online user guidance saying fuel up to E10 is allowed, recommends using gasoline that contains no ethanol, when possible.
Similar sentiments can be found among the forums and media outlets serving the powersports industry (which includes ATVs, UTVs, snowmobiles, etc.), with a 2022 article from ATV Rider saying, “Even 10% ethanol can have damaging effects if you allow it to sit in your fuel system for an extended time, especially if your ATV uses a carburetor.”
Whatley Oil company benefits from both market opportunities.
“We have a chain of lakes from the Chattahoochee River dam. Summer Fridays are by far our biggest days in this area,” said Whatley. “We have a lot of folks coming through pulling smaller recreational boats and filling up.”
Another company that markets ethanol-free fuel (among its more than 70 fuel blends) is San Antonio-based VP Racing Fuels, which supports a global network of more than 2,000 dealers. The ethanol-free fuel is provided in bulk to its branded marinas and distributed to its branded convenience retail sites as “cage fuels” in 5-gallon pails in outside cages, similar to how propane canisters are sold. The company also sells premixed ethanol-free 2-cycle fuels in its network and to big-box retailers.
Les Phelps, VP’s director of commercial and specialty products, noted that the retail site is a special destination for customers seeking ethanol-free fuel—which has some added benefits.
“If they’re stopping to fill up the boat, their ATVs or their powersports equipment, they’re probably also stopping in to buy ice, drinks, snacks, meals and whatever else they need,” said Phelps. “The same goes for a landscaping crew on their way to start the workday. We’ve seen that lift in our branded operations. You’re attracting a customer who’s typically going to be spending more.”
It’s a Classic
For classic-car owners, there is no gray area with ethanol fuels and engine technology. While not a mainstream market, classic-car owners can be found virtually anywhere, and these customers tend to have a strong emotional connection to their vehicles and will pay to fuel them accordingly.
“They’re an educated buyer, and they know that ethanol-free is the best option for those classic cars,” Whatley said. “That’s a pretty niche type of customer. I know one guy specifically who shops at one of our locations because we have E0. He has an extensive collection of classic cars from the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s that he just does not want to fuel with ethanol.”
One related area is the sale of high-octane (over 100 RON) racing fuel, which includes ethanol-free options. This is a niche customer, like the classic-car enthusiast, who also has a passion for their vehicles and a desire to fuel them accordingly to make the most of high-compression engines for stoplight cruising or track days. These customers are dedicated and are a cornerstone of the VP Racing Fuels brand, as the name suggests. The price per 5-gallon pail can be as much as $200. The company also distributes a range of performance additives.
“We don’t sell race fuel at every retail outlet, and in general our outlets are partners who own and operate the store,” said Phelps. “We allow them the freedom to run the franchise and stock whatever items they want in the store. We do offer to those folks retail-oriented race fuel product packages, and that serves as a point of differentiation for their sites that sets them apart for others in the marketplace.”
A Question of Supply
Gasoline typically arrives at the terminal ethanol-free, so it might be expected that E0 would be widely available. And for some, that is the case.
“We never had supply issues,” Whatley said. “I’d say 90%-plus of what we pull is unbranded; we can get that as ethanol-free, and we do sell a good amount of premium ethanol-free for two marinas. So, we don’t generally have an issue with supply.”
When supply is available, ethanol-free gasoline can fill a comfortable and profitable niche in a chain’s product lineup. Being both a distributor and retailer also helps.
“You’re going to get a better price because you’ve taken the retailer out of the equation, so you’re buying it direct wholesale,” Whatley said. “From the retail perspective, you can command a high margin. At the same time, a lot of customers who need it for equipment, especially landscaping companies, can get it at a much better price from us.”
However, while complete bans on sales of ethanol-free are not usually the case, a variety of regulatory and market issues can make supply availability hit or miss. A handful of states mandate E10, but there are usually exceptions for the aforementioned specialty uses. Regardless, E10 is the mainstream product in most other states by default, encouraged by the RFS and RINs market.
“It’s not uncommon for big terminals—for instance, Kinder Morgan in Houston—to have ethanol added at the rack as it goes into the truck, as a requirement,” Phelps said. “The RIN market disincentivizes ethanol-free, and the people along the distribution chain or the end consumer either choose to take advantage of the RIN opportunities or use the cheaper ethanol products as a result.”
If a retailer’s operational footprint overlaps with obvious market opportunities and supply isn’t an issue, offering E0 is no different than offering any other alternative fuel. A major consideration would be tank availability. Storage would typically not require a standard 10,000-gallon tank; a separate 5,000-gallon (aboveground or underground) tank could suffice, which is how Whatley Oil handles the product at its sites. However, with blender pumps and some creativity, the possibilities at the dispenser are endless.