Search Results

An extensive literature search was conducted and potential additive candidates were identified to improve the safety aspects associated with the use of methanol as a motor fuel. Before any laboratory measurements were conducted, candidate additives were evaluated for possible formation of known or suspected toxic compounds as combustion products. The remaining potential additives were then screened for their effectiveness in improving methanol fuel properties in a laboratory test program emphasizing flame luminosity, lubricity, and flammability. Flame luminosity was measured with a specially designed system to monitor the light produced by the flame in lux. Lubricity was measured with a Ball-on-Cylinder Lubricity Evaluator (BOCLE). For flammability limits, a device was designed to determine the presence of flammable vapors above the liquid at different additive concentrations.

Two additive blends proposed for improving the flame luminosity in neat methanol fuel were investigated to determine the effect of these additives on the exhaust emissions in a dual-fueled Volkswagen Jetta. The two blends contained 4 percent toluene plus 2 percent indan in methanol and 5 percent cyclopentene plus 5 percent indan in methanol. Each blend was tested for regulated and unregulated emissions as well as a speciation of the exhaust hydrocarbons resulting from use of each fuel. The vehicle exhaust emissions from these two fuel blends were compared to the Coordinating Research Council Auto-Oil national average gasoline (RF-A), M100, and M85 blended from RF-A. Carter Maximum Incremental Reactivity Factors were applied to the speciated hydrocarbon emission results to determine the potential ozone formation for each fuel. Toxic emissions as defined in the 1990 Clean Air Act were also compared for each fuel.

This paper describes the characterization of regulated and unregulated exhaust emissions from two methanol-fueled automobiles. For comparison, two gasoline-fueled automobiles of the same make and model were also evaluated. These automobiles were evaluated over the Light-Duty Federal Test Procedure and the Highway Fuel Economy Driving Schedule. Additional evaluations with the methanol-fueled automobiles were conducted using promoted base metal catalysts, and one of these automobiles was tested in a non-catalyst configuration. Exhaust constiuents sampled for, in addition to the regulated emissions, include: aldehydes, particulate, individual hydrocarbons, methanol, ethanol, ammonia, cyanide, amines, nitrosamines, and methyl nitrite.

This paper reviews the use of additives to improve safety aspects associated with the use of methanol as a motor fuel. A survey of the literature was conducted to determine candidate additives for methanol that produce one or more of the following properties: provide a visible or luminous flame, reduce the potential for skin contact, give a foul or unpleasant taste and odor, and act as an emetic. Candidate additives were reviewed to determine potential effectiveness, cost, east of production, health problems, and effects on vehicle performance. Potential additives include complex hydrocarbon mixtures such as gasoline, alcohol soluble dyes and unpalatable compounds such as denatonium benzoate.

Neat methanol fuel (M100) has many advantages for achieving low emission levels as an automotive fuel, but there are several items that require attention before this fuel can replace conventional fuels. One item involves the low flame luminosity of methanol. An extensive literature search and laboratory evaluation were conducted to identify potential additive candidates to improve the luminosity of a methanol flame. Potential compounds were screened based on their concentration, luminosity improvement, and duration of luminosity improvement during the burn. Three compounds were found to increase the flame luminosity for segments of the burn at relatively low concentrations: toluene, cyclopentene, and indan. In combination, these three compounds markedly improved the luminosity of methanol throughout the majority of the burn. The two combinations were 1) 4 percent toluene plus 2 percent indan and 2) 5 percent cyclopentene plus 5 percent indan in methanol.