Methanol—A Sustainable Fuel for SI Engine

Abstract

The vulnerability of crude oil prices with geopolitics around the world is effecting the economy of many countries. The increase in pollution-related deaths due to conventional fossil fuels is making their use debatable every other day. In India, the road transport sector alone utilizes around half of the petroleum consumption. As per reports, the demand for petrol and diesel is increasing at a rate of 6.4% every year. This predicted trend of fuel consumption and growth in motor vehicles are making future energy security fragile. At this juncture, research is being carried out to find suitable alternatives for fossil fuels at least in non-commercial vehicles. Many alternatives such as alcoholic fuels, biodiesels, hydrogen, electric vehicles, and fuel cells are being proposed for their utilization in the present vehicle fleet. Among these alternatives, methanol and its blends stand out in the race. The availability of methanol from a wide variety of feedstock and its characteristics makes it an undeniable alternative for SI engines. Methanol contains ~ 50% inherent oxygen, which leads to cleaner combustion compared to gasoline and diesel. In this chapter, various properties of methanol which makes it a viable SI engine fuel are discussed in detail. The limitations of methanol and its blends in the SI engine are analyzed. The technical solutions available to overcome these limitations are presented in this chapter. The effects of using methanol and its blends on SI engine performance, combustion, and emissions are reviewed in detail. The requirement of catalytic convertors in methanol-fueled engines and design modification required for catalytic convertors for methanol operation are also discussed in the present chapter.