Federal Methanol Fleet Project final report
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (United States)
The Federal Methanol Fleet Project concluded with the termination of data collection from the three fleet sites in February 1991. The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) completed five years of operation, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) completed its fourth year in the project, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) completed its third. Twenty of the thirty-nine vehicles in the fleet were powered by fuel methanol (typically M85, 85 % methanol, 15 % unleaded gasoline, although the LBL fleet used M88), and the remaining control vehicles were comparable gasoline vehicles. Over 2.2 million km (1.4 million miles) were accumulated on the fleet vehicles in routine government service. Data collected over the years have included vehicle mileage and fuel economy, engine oil analysis, emissions, vehicle maintenance, and driver acceptance. Fuel economies (on an energy basis) of the methanol and gasoline vehicles of the same type were comparable throughout the fleet testing. Engine oil analysis has revealed higher accumulation rates of iron and other metals in the oil of the methanol vehicles, although no significant engine damage has been attributed to the higher metal content. Vehicles of both fuel types have experienced degradation in their emission control systems, however, the methanol vehicles seem to have degraded their catalytic converters at a higher rate. The methanol vehicles have required more maintenance than their gasoline counterparts, in most cases, although the higher levels of maintenance cannot be attributed to fuel-related'' repairs. According to the daily driver logs and results from several surveys, drivers of the fleet vehicles at all three sites were generally satisfied with the methanol vehicles.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 6625361
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL-TM-12278; ON: DE93011392
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Results from the first year of operation of the Federal Methanol Fleet at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Results from the second year of operation of the Federal Methanol Fleet at Argonne National Laboratory
Related Subjects
METHANOL FUELS
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
AUTOMOBILES
AUTOMOTIVE FUELS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COMPILED DATA
EMISSION
FUEL CONSUMPTION
GASOLINE
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PROGRESS REPORT
ALCOHOL FUELS
DATA
DOCUMENT TYPES
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
EVALUATION
FUELS
INFORMATION
LIQUID FUELS
NUMERICAL DATA
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
SYNTHETIC FUELS
TESTING
VEHICLES
330800* - Emission Control- Alternative Fuels
330700 - Advanced Propulsion Systems- Emission Control