Review of methanol and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as alternative for transportation fuels

Journal Article · Sat Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991 · Journal of Energy Resources Technology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2905782· OSTI ID:6987541

Gandhidasan, P; Ertas, A; Anderson, E E ^[1]

---

1. Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock, TX (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

Concern over the environment and a potential oil shortage has resulted in an intensified research for alternative fuels for the transportation sector. Two fuels given strong consideration are methanol and compressed natural gas (CNG). This paper is a comprehensive comparative study of methanol and CNG as transportation fuels. The physical properties of methanol and CNG are discussed. The various concerns, such as source and potential fuel supply, safety, toxicity and health hazards, engine performance and emissions, fuel storage, fuel tank and refueling of these alternative fuels are addressed briefly in this paper. The authors find that no single alternative fuel is best in all categories. The merits and drawbacks of each fuel are tabulated and the vehicle characteristics are compared with gasoline. The study concludes that the neat methanol may be considered as an alternative for passenger cars and CNG may be considered for fleets, light and heavy-duty vehicles as the best near-term solution.

• OSTI ID: 6987541
• Journal Information: Journal of Energy Resources Technology; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Energy Resources Technology; (United States) Vol. 113:2; ISSN 0195-0738; ISSN JERTD2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
034000 -- Natural Gas-- Combustion
09 BIOMASS FUELS
092000 -- Biomass Fuels-- Combustion-- (1990-)
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
330700 -- Advanced Propulsion Systems-- Emission Control
330800* -- Emission Control-- Alternative Fuels
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
ALCOHOL FUELS
AUTOMOTIVE FUELS
COMPRESSED GASES
COMPRESSORS
CONTAINERS
CONTROL
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUEL SUBSTITUTION
FUELS
GAS COMPRESSORS
GAS FUELS
GASES
METHANOL FUELS
MONITORING
NATURAL GAS
PERFORMANCE
POLLUTION CONTROL
SYNTHETIC FUELS
TANKS
TOXICITY
VEHICLES