The Negative Affects of Ethanol on Recreational Boat Fuel Systems The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) opposes

the use of marine fuels that contain greater than 10% ethanol content by volume. This position is based on safety and durability concerns and supported by many ell documented studies. According to state boating registrations! there are over 1" million recreational boats in the #nited $tates. %oat builders utili&e five types of materials to fabricate fuel tan's. These are aluminum! steel! cross(lin' polyethylene! high density polyethylene and fiberglass. )or a rough estimate of today*s numbers! there are appro+imately four million boats that have aluminum fuel tan's, appro+imately seven million have steel or polyethylene tan's! and less than one million have fiberglass tan's. The data clearly indicates that the increased use of ethanol in gasoline has raised safety and durability issues for aluminum and fiberglass fuel tan's. Aluminum Fuel Tanks -n the case of aluminum tan's! aluminum is a highly conductive metal that relies on an o+ide layer for its corrosion protection properties. .o levels of ethanol! such as /10 (10%)! are usually not a problem in aluminum tan's because the o+ide layer provides a good measure of protection. The problem occurs hen the ethanol content is increased. There are t o mechanisms that occur ith ethanol. %oth mechanisms are a result of the hydroscopic property of ethanol! meaning it absorbs ater. The more ethanol in the fuel! the more ater there ill be in the fuel tan'. 0ater not only causes the tan' to corrode! it also causes the corrosion particles to clog fuel filters! fuel systems! and damage engine components. The corrosion rate can be accelerated under a number of conditions if other contaminating metals are present such as copper hich may be pic'ed up from brass fittings or as a lo level contaminant in the aluminum alloy. 1hloride! hich is a chemical found in salt ater! ill also accelerate corrosion. -n the long term! corrosion can perforate the aluminum to produce lea's that ould cause fuel to spill into the bilge and end up in the environment. -n the orse case it could cause a fire and2or e+plosion ha&ard. %oat fuel tan's are often located under the dec' ne+t to the engine here the operator might not be a are of a lea' until it as too late. . The second mechanism that can occurs ith the increased use of ethanol based fuel in aluminum tan's is galvanic corrosion. 3asoline fuel is not conductive! but the presence of ethanol or ethanol and ater ill conduct electricity. The galvanic process that occurs to aluminum trim tabs! stern drives! shaft couplings! etc. ill occur ithin the aluminum fuel tan'. %oat builders are able to protect e+terior aluminum boat e4uipment ith sacrificial anodes 'no n as &incs. $acrificial anodes are not a feasible option for the interior of a fuel tan'.

Fiberglass Fuel Tanks NMMA is in the early stage of evaluating the effects that ethanol in gasoline has on fiberglass tan's. %oat #.$.! the boater advocacy association! recently issue a consumer alert reporting that o ners of older yachts have e+perienced lea'ing fiberglass fuel tan's. There have also been reports of heavy blac' deposits on the inta'e valves of marine engines resulting in bent push rods! pistons and valves. $ome of the preliminary analysis conducted by an independent lab found the deposits to be di(iso octyl phalate! a chemical found in the resin! gel coat and filler used to ma'e fiberglass fuel tan's. An initial theory is that hen ethanol is introduced to the fuel tan' the very small ethanol molecules diffuse into pores bet een the resin here they dissolve the unreacted phalates. $ince the phalates are in solution they are able to pass through the fuel line filters. These phalates have e+ceptionally high temperature stability and remain intact hen the fuel evaporates in the carburetor or undergo only partial decomposition in the combustion chamber thus creating the heavy blac' deposits on the engine*s inta'e valves. #nli'e aluminum! NMMA has yet to identify the effect that ethanol in fuel has on the tan's integrity or even the root cause of dissolved phalates. The theory is that it is being caused by ethanol and e 'no that ethanol dissolves phalates! but more testing is currently being conducted. Conclusion As stated in the opening paragraph! the NMMA has serious safety and durability concerns ith the incremental increase in ethanol content in gasoline motor fuel. The ma5ority of marine engines in use today are open loop systems that are designed! engineered and calibrated at the factory to operate ith fuel containing either 10% MT%/ or ethanol. 1hanging the fuel that these engines ere designed! engineered and calibrated for ill negatively effect drivability! e+haust and evaporative emissions! and potentially damage the components. 0hile these issues are significant! the boaters have a far more serious issue. The available data indicates that aluminum and fiberglass fuel tan's and butyl rubber fuel hoses that are currently being used ill fail if the ethanol content is increased to "0%. That is not an emissions issue, it is not a drivability or durability issue. -t is an issue that needs to be ta'en far more seriously. -t is a threat to the health and safety of the boaters in your state.