General science

Question

What are the current results of research into the use of alcohol and methane fueled vehicles?

Answer

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <DIV>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The engine technology is mature, so no problem there. Methanol takes special elasomers (o-rings and hoses)&nbsp;so it is not a "drop in" replacement for gasoline in the typical car engine, like ethanol is.&nbsp;<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You have to look at where these fuels come from and how they are made to get the full picture of why they aren't terribly practical.&nbsp;<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Methanol comes from fossil fuels, just like gasoline, so there is really no&nbsp;ecological or economic&nbsp;advantage to using it over gasoline.&nbsp;It is more expensive than&nbsp;gasoline because it more expensive to make than gasoline.<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ethanol is made from corn, so on the face of it, you would think it would be at an advantage for the environment. The difficulty is the inefficiency of the production process. You end up using more energy to make ethanol that you get out of it as a fuel. Corn takes chemical fertilizers. These typically come from petroleum. After you grow the corn, you extract the sugar. Then, you ferment the sugar. This throws away a large fraction of the energy in the sugar.&nbsp;You then distil the "mash" to get the pure ethanol. This takes a lot of energy too.&nbsp;<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;My money is on bio-diesel. You grow a crop like soybeans that fix nitrogen and do not require fertilizer. You crush the plants and spin out the oil. You can burn the oil at this point, but you would like to make it flow more easily so it can be used directly in a diesel engine without modification. So you mix in a small amount of ethanol or methanol and a small amount of sodium hydroxide (lye). This results in glycerin (soap) and bio-diesel.&nbsp;<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The process is simple and efficient. You can return the remains of the plant to the soil (perhaps though a cow if you like) to replenish the soil. The only by-product is soap.<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You can also use discarded fryer oil. If you use fryer oil, bio-diesel costs about $0.50 per gallon to make. If you use virgin soybean oil, bio-diesel costs about the same as petroleum diesel for small-scale production and would likely cost less on a larger scale.&nbsp;<BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have more specific questions, feel free to drop me an email&nbsp;<BR><BR>Bill Dube&nbsp;&nbsp; <A href="mailto:bdube@al.noaa.gov">bdube@al.noaa.gov</A></DIV> http://vrd.askvrd.org/services/answerschema.xml