Methanol as an Alternative Transport Fuel
With the advent of the direct methanol fuel cell, there is renewed interest in methanol as an alternative transport fuel. The Australian Department of Environment and Heritage, in September 2006, commissioned a discussion paper on methanol as a transport fuel.
Methanol can be produced either from natural gas or from bio-methane. Methanol is a potential transport fuel in its own right, can be mixed with petrol or with diesel, or can be a precursor to DME (di-methyl ether). Methanol is also a precursor to the production of MTBE (methyl tri-butyl ether) and methylal (dimethoxymethane). Though the United States has phased out the use of MTBE as an oxygenate for reformulated gasoline (and substituted ethanol), there continues to be growth in MTBE in countries such as Iran and China.
This presentation reviews the previous use of methanol in Sweden and the USA and discusses the atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases, criteria pollutants and air toxics (especially acetaldehyde) as a result of using methanol in vehicles.