straight methanol engine?

[oilyriser]

Methanol is really cheap, and has such a high octane rating that you can use it with a very high compression ratio, which is more efficient. The big problem is that it doesn't evaporate at low temperatures, so a regular engine simply wouldn't start on a cold day.

What if you had an insulated tank of maybe 2 gallons of hot coolant stored under the hood that could be circulated to preheat the heads before starting? I've read about this idea as a way to reduce cold start emissions, but maybe it could be adapted to run an engine on straight methanol. The tank could be a vacuum insulated container, with a heating coil inside so you can plug it in, incase you don't run the engine for a week or more, and it cools off.

 

[kenw]

What would make the coolant hot after sitting overnight in very cold conditions?

would seem simpler just to have a 2nd smaller tank to hold regular fuel for starting. A simple switch to swap tanks once warmed up is all the "techniology" you would need.

 

[oilyriser]

Yes, it would cool off faster in cold areas, so you wouldn't have as much time before you needed to plug it the heater. In places where it gets below -40, you need to plug in a regular car anyways, so the plugs will be available.

 

[JHZR2]

the problem is that it isnt really realy cheap, and the energy balance for making it is going the wrong way.

Good first step though, I suppose.

JMH

 

[kenw]

and using an electric heater (very expensive energy) to allow you to save a few $$ in the car seems counterproductive too.

 

[XS650]

Air temperature is big problem too, cold air cools the fuel down nearly instantly as it trys to mix with the air.

It's also nasty corrosive stuff, a lot worse than ethanol.

 

[oilyriser]

Some oil wells have to flare off natural gas, but it could be converted to methanol and sold.

www.methanex.com/products/methanolprice.html

It's currently about us$1/gallon, wholesale, before any road taxes, and takes about 1.6 x as much to give the same range as gasoline. If they tax it according to energy content relative to gasoline, it would cost about us$1.85 per gasoline equivalent gallon, assuming 25 cents per gallon gasoline tax.

If you build an engine with a high enough compression ratio to take advantage of the high octane rating, you could go maybe 10% further per gallon.

There are already cars on the market that are built to handle methanol in their fuel systems, but their engines are also able to run on 87 octane gas, so they suffer with the lower compression ratios needed for gasoline.

 

[labman]

In the next 20 years, we may see more methanol fueled cars than hydrogen. I have seen references to methanol fuel cells. As energy prices climb, it may become practical to convert plant wastes to methanol, wood alcohol. Remote areas continue to flare methane because of the difficulties of shipping it. Convert it to methanol, and use the same tankers as for crude oil.

 

[Shannow]

labman,
you are most correct, methanol can be manufactured from just about anything (including coal), turbing untractible fuels into tractible...It's certainly part of the future.

WRT fuel cells, there's a book in the library which shows a functioning coal fuel cell in the '50s. Well it functioned, but for a very limited time, and required a molten salt bath for an electrolyte, but it DID work, half a century ago.

 

[oilyriser]

You could adjust the operation of the engine so it could run on straight methanol, ethanol, wet ethanol, or E85, by controlling the boost pressure, and amount of heat recovery.

Fuel cells will be good, once they are developed more, and a good source of platinum is discovered.