NEW E85 PUMP OPENS IN KNOXVILLE

Tricia Braid

Feb 27, 2017  |  Today's News

Illinois Corn Marketing Board is celebrating the most recently added E85 pump in Illinois. Love’s Travel Stops opened their newest location in Illinois on February 16, and had a ribbon cutting of the company’s first ever E85 flex fuel pump.

“Building corn demand is our number one job here at the Illinois corn checkoff program,” said Jim Raben, ICMB Chairman. “We’re happy to see that the ethanol fuel market in Illinois is expanding by one more flex fuel dispenser this week in an area of the state where motorists haven’t had many options until recently.”

“We’re especially glad to see Love’s Travel Stops entering the marketplace with flex fuel. We’re sure that their customers will quickly turn to the higher ethanol blend as a way to fuel up with a high-performance fuel that supports the local economies at an attractive price point,” Raben continued.

E85 can only be used in Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFVs). Drivers filling up with E85 at this new location at the Love’s Travel Stop location in Knoxville at exit 51 on I-74 will be supporting their local economy through their purchase. Corn-based ethanol fuel is made from local corn at a nearby Big River Resources, Inc., ethanol plant in Galva from corn grown in Knox County.

Each tank full of E85 also supports the environment. By using E85, an FFV driver will reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by 4 tons. E85 use reduces ozone-forming pollution by 20% and reduces life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions nearly 30%. This homegrown, renewable, plant-based fuel is a sharp contrast to gasoline which contains toxic compounds like benzene, toluene, and xylene. Drivers using E85 help reduce the release of these chemicals into the environment. 

ICMB encourages farmers and motorists to get an account at www.e85prices.com/illinois.html and start reporting their price experiences on E85 and other higher blends at the more than 300 gas stations in Illinois offering E85 and other higher blends of ethanol.