Energy sources methanol

Excise taxes placed on specific energy sources tend to reduce the demand for these energy sources in both the short and the long run. The federal government imposes excise taxes on almost all petroleum products and coal (see Table I). The federal government also imposes excise taxes on many transportation uses of methanol, ethanol, natural gas, and propane and imposes a fee on electricity produced from nuclear power plants. 

A major problem with the new sustainable energy sources is their reliability. Inherently they will produce electricity as the wind blows and the sun shines. The need for power is not constant either, with peak demands during the day. Hence, ways are needed to store energy that enable release on demand. Synthetic fuels and methanol are candidates, but the most important will be hydrogen. It can be produced conveniently from water and electricity with a reasonably high efficiency of 70 %. Hydrogen is the ideal fuel for fuel cells. 

One main advantage of such a power source is the direct transformation of the chemical energy of methanol combustion into electrical energy. Hence, the reversible cell potential, can be calculated from the Gibbs energy change, AG, associated with the overall combustion reaction of methanol (1), by the equation ... 

Methanol can be nsed as one possible replacement for conventional motor fuels. The use of methanol as a motor fuel received attention during the oil crises of the 1970s due to its availability and low cost. Methanol is an attractive fuel it is hquid at room temperature, it has limited toxicity, high energy density, and is an inexpensive energy source (Shukla et al., 1998). Methanol is a favored fuel as it has twice the energy density of liquid hydrogen and since it is a liquid at normal ambient temperatures and it can thus be stored and transported easily and inexpensively (Collins, 2001). 

Alternative fuels can be used to power a fuel cell such as hydrogen, methane, natural gas, methanol, ethanol, liquehed petroleum gas and landfill gas, which can be produced from renewable energy sources such as biomass and wind. 

An important process for production of synthetic protein uses methanol ns feedstock. The use of methanol as a fuel, either as pure melhanol. as a mixture (approximately I5 4) with gasoline, or as a feedstock for synthetic gasoline is envisaged for possible large-scale application as well as use in gas turbines lor electricity generation. See also Wastes as Energy Sources. 

Natural gas constitutes an important energy source as it provides the lowest emission of C02 among fossil fuels. In addition natural gas is widely used as feedstock for the petrochemical industry, such as methanol and ammonia production - and may on a future perspective also have a potential for bio-protein production. The only disadvantage of natural gas seems to be a fairly costly storage - either as under ground (UGS) or compressed or in condensed phase (CNG, LNG). 

There is sufficient knowledge in the hydrodynamics of slurry and capsule transport to design and to construct a pilot plant or even commercial pipeline for transport of coal or other solidified energy sources in a various carrier media. This may include methanol or LNG. However, additional research should be done for safe and economical functioning of each individual pipeline. 

Hydrogen as the most efficient and cleanest energy source for fuel-cell power is produced by partial oxidation followed by the water gas-shift reaction and reforming of hydrocarbons or methanol [58]. A small amount of CO (0.3-1%) in the so-produced H2 must be selectively removed because CO greatly poisons Pt/C and Pt-M/C electrocatalysts in proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) fuel cells [59, 60]. PROX of CO in excess H2 is a key reaction in the practical use of H2 in PEM fuel-cell systems. 

Main Fuel Source Corn, grains or agricultural waste Natural Gas, Methanol and other energy sources. Underground reserves A by-product of petroleum refining or natural gas processing Natural gas, coal or woody biomass... 

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