Outlook for Fuel Methanol

The future of alternative fuels in the United States, and the role of methanol in that future, is difficult to predict with any certainty. There is no question that alternative fuels will capture a fraction of the total U.S. transportation fuel market the uncertainty revolves around how large the portion will become and over what time period. 

The major imponderables determining the extent of use and rate of penetration of alternative fuels are as follows  

Congressional determination to tackle energy security Administrative willingness to apply the CAAA 

A further major factor holding back the expansion of methanol is competitive pressure from CNG. There are those who claim that the deployment of massive, and frequently rate-based, resources by natural gas utilities does not in fact detract from the rate of growth of methanol because each fuel has its own market niches in which it is paramount, and in any case, the potential market demand is so lar that there is more than enough room for both. Such claims are illusory they ignore the fact that there are limited commitment, resources, and financing available to federal, state, and municipal governments to facilitate the 

Cument methanol sufi rs from the fbOowing disadvantages Potential firrmaldehyde emissions Hitler cost per Btu Toxic to humans Low flame luminosity Vapor-phase ejq)bsivity Cob start difl uk (MlOO) 

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