Status Update: Ethanol Blender Pump Dispenser Certified (August 2010)

In July 2010, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certified the first ethanol blender pump dispensers. Blender pumps are fuel dispensers that draw fuel from two separate bulk storage tanks and can dispense preprogrammed blends of those fuels into vehicles. Many stations already use blender pumps to create midgrade gasoline from a blend of regular and premium gasoline. In ethanol applications, blender pumps allow station owners to blend E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) with conventional gasoline to create intermediate ethanol blends. The new UL certification only covers dispensing from bulk fuel storage tanks with conventional gasoline and E85; it does not certify dispensing from storage tanks containing higher concentrations of ethanol like E98.

Dresser Wayne UL-listed models include EB12 and EB23. These dual-hose models provide one hose for dispensing E10 to conventional vehicles and one hose for dispensing variable ethanol blends to flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs). E85 UL-listed hanging hardware (hose, nozzle, breakaway, and swivel) should be used with blender pump dispensers and all ethanol blended fuels must be labeled "for FFV use only."

E85 ethanol content varies between 68% and 83% depending on location and seasonal time of year. Station owners blending different ethanol fuels will need to ensure that they program the blender pump dispenser throughout the year to reflect the actual ethanol content in the E85 bulk storage tank as it changes.