A blender pump draws two fuels from separate storage tanks and mixes them together in various percentages to form a variety of fuel choices for the station’s customers. Any combination of fuels is possible, and most blending systems allow changes in the percentages for the seasonal blends of E85. In theory, a marketer could have straight unleaded and straight ethanol in the two tanks, offering nothing but a variety of ethanol blends in varying strengths.
Used for years to blend and dispense unleaded and premium to give customers several octane choices, blender pumps are now finding a home in the retailing of ethanol fuels, providing stations the unique opportunity to offer mid-level blends between E10 and E85 or to simply blend their own ethanol to create E10 and/or E85. The stations benefit from the blending economics of higher-volume ethanol sales, and their customers enjoy this new array of fuel choices at the pump.
In this new application, blender pumps typically utilize two underground tanks, one containing unleaded gasoline and the other containing E85. In addition to offering more traditional fuels such as unleaded, E10, and E85, the fuel pump can also dispense a variety of mid-level ethanol blends – often E20, E30, and E40 – which are created by mixing the appropriate percentages of fuel from each underground tank. In this new application, blender pumps typically utilize two underground tanks, one containing unleaded gasoline and the other containing E85. In addition to offering more traditional fuels such as unleaded, E10, and E85, the fuel pump can also dispense a variety of mid-level ethanol blends – often E20, E30, and E40 – which are created by mixing the appropriate percentages of fuel from each underground tank.
