Because of the risks associated with petroleum like the high cost to both your pocketbook and the environment, finding alternative sources of energy has been a top priority for years. One such source is called methanol. There are a lot of misconceptions about this type of energy source and it is important to understand the truth about methanol before making a decision about what type of fuel to use.
Methanol is made from a number of sources, including fossils and coal.Check out this link here. It can also be made from natural gas and biomass like wood, making it a potentially renewable resource. Methanol is also less expensive to produce than ethanol is, but it is slightly more toxic.
Methanol can be used in internal combustion engines, like for cars and other automobiles. It is often used mixed with petroleum or other fuels because of a few downfalls that methanol has – it burns at a lower temperature than gasoline, so this makes it behave differently, especially in lower temperatures. A popular solution is mixing 85 methanol and 15 another fuel.
Used in racing, like the Indy 500, since the 1960s, Methanol is considered much safer than gasoline because of the way it acts when on fire. It is harder to ignite methanol and it burns a lot slower and a lot cooler than gasoline does. It also has a lot less exhaust emissions than gasoline, making it better for the environment. Another plus side of methanol is that it biodegrades quickly and non-toxically, meaning that a methanol spill causes no long-term environmental damage the way an oil spill does.
The state of California has supported the use of methanol in the past. During the 1980s, over five hundred vehicles there were converted to run on an 85 methanol solution and the program was a success. Now, ethanol is a more popular fuel source but it costs about six to eight times more than methanol does, making methanol the cheaper solution.
