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Cold weather methanol vehicle demonstration fleet at Argonne National Laboratory - implications for flexible fuel and dedicated methanol commercialization

Conference ·
OSTI ID:7079951
;
As part of the US Dept. of Energy-sponsored fleet testing of methanol-fueled vehicles at various sites around the country, Argonne National Laboratory has been operating five M85 (85% methanol blend)-fueled Chevrolet S-10 pickups and five M85 Ford Crown Victorias on- and off-site since late 1986. Each fleet has a corresponding set of gasoline-fueled control vehicles. The objective of the Argonne testing program is to evaluate performance (including cold start-up), driver acceptance, durability and maintenance requirements of methanol-fueled engine systems operating in a cold climate. Results of the testing program will guide the Federal government in future use of methanol-powered fleets and vehicle manufacturers in making improvements and modifications to light-duty (spark-ignition) vehicle engine systems designed to operate on M85 or as flexible fuel (any mixture of gasoline and M85) vehicles. The paper presents some interim findings of this ongoing test program. Driveability, reliability and driver acceptance of the dedicated methanol vehicles has been found to be equivalent to their gasoline counterparts. Fuel economy (on an energy-equivalent basis) has overtaken that of the gasoline-powered units. Certification emissions for the vehicles met all Federal standards, and there is no indication to date of any accelerated degradation in emission system performance.
Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
7079951
Report Number(s):
CONF-880679-6; ON: DE88011968
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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