Methanol-fueled vehicle

Fig. 2. CEC methanol-fueled vehicle exhaust profile for (a) HC, hydrocarbons (b) NO and (c) CO. SoHd line represents State of California standard...

Fuel Flexible Vehicles. Using dedicated alcohol fuel vehicles pointed to the importance of a wide distribution of fueling stations. Methanol-fueled vehicles require refueling more often than gasoline vehicles. 

In the late 1980s attempts were made in California to shift fuel use to methanol in order to capture the air quaHty benefits of the reduced photochemical reactivity of the emissions from methanol-fueled vehicles. Proposed legislation would mandate that some fraction of the sales of each vehicle manufacturer be capable of using methanol, and that fuel suppHers ensure that methanol was used in these vehicles. The legislation became a study of the California Advisory Board on Air QuaHty and Fuels. The report of the study recommended a broader approach to fuel quaHty and fuel choice that would define environmental objectives and allow the marketplace to determine which vehicle and fuel technologies were adequate to meet environmental objectives at lowest cost and maximum value to consumers. The report directed the California ARB to develop a regulatory approach that would preserve environmental objectives by using emissions standards that reflected the best potential of the cleanest fuels. 

K. H. Heilman, G. K. Piotrowski, and R. M. Schaefer, Start Catalyst Systems Employing Heated Catalyst Technology for Control of Emissions from Methanol-Fueled Vehicles, SAE 93082, Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale, Pa., 1993. 

Methanol also seems to biodegrade quickly when spilled and it dissolves and dilutes rapidly in water. It has been recommended as an alternative fuel by the EPA and the DOE, partly because of reduced urban air pollutant emissions compared to gasoline. Most methanol-fueled vehicles use a blend of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline called M85. Building a methanol infrastructure would not be as difficult as converting to hydrogen. While methanol can be produced from natural gas, it can also be distilled from coal or even biomass. In the 1980s, methanol was popular for a brief time as an internal-combustion fuel and President Bush even discussed this in a 1989 speech. 

Finlayson-Pitts, B. J., J. N. Pitts, Jr., and A. C. Lloyd, Comment on A Study of the Stability of Methanol-Fueled Vehicle Emissions in Tedlar Bags, Environ. Sci. Technol., 26, 1668-1670(1992). 

The dehydrogenation (decomposition) of methanol to give CO and H2 on supported catalysts has attracted much attention because of its practical relevance for methanol-fueled vehicles or heat-recovery techniques... 

Indeed, the methanol industry all but abandoned support for the methanol fuel vehicle market it helped launch in 1988, as demand for MTBE consumed most of the world supply for methanol needed to produce it. At the end of the decade, the use of MTBE began to decline over concerns about water quality impacts, but ethanol use continues to grow at a steady pace. If making a market for agricultural products was a goal, we are increasingly successful. 

Methanol also seems to biodegrade quickly when spilled and it dissolves and dilutes rapidly in water. It has been recommended as an alternative fuel by the EPA and the DOE, partly because of reduced urban air pollutant emissions compared to gasoline. Most methanol-fueled vehicles use a blend of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline called M85. 

Andino, J. M. and Butler, J. W., A study of the stability of methanol-fueled vehicle emissions in Tedlar bags. Environ. Sci. TechnoL, 25, 1644-1646, 1991. 

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