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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.

This paper describes the findings of a laboratory effort to demonstrate improved automotive exhaust emission control with a cold-start hydrocarbon collection system. The emission control strategy developed in this study incorporated a zeolite molecular sieve in the exhaust system to collect cold-start hydrocarbons for subsequent release to an active catalytic converter. A prototype emission control system was designed and tested on a gasoline-fueled vehicle. Continuous raw exhaust emission measurements upstream and downstream of the zeolite molecular sieve revealed collection, storage, and release of cold-start hydrocarbons. Federal Test Procedure (FTP) emission results show a 35 percent reduction in hydrocarbons emitted during the cold-transient segment (Bag 1) due to adsorption by the zeolite.