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Methanol as an Alternative Fuel in Internal Combustion Engine: Scope, Production, and Limitations

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Methanol

Part of the book series: Energy, Environment, and Sustainability ((ENENSU))

Abstract

In the present era, vehicles on road are increasing day by day and its demand is bouncing. The world’s fossil fuel reserves are limited so there is scope to have intensive research to develop and use non-fossil fuels in vehicles. Methanol is the best-suited candidate to fulfil this crisis. Methanol has lots of supporting characteristics to be used in the engine; lower production costs, high octane number, impressive cold working temperature, good emission characteristics, high latent heat of vapourization, enhancing thermal efficiency, high flame speed, low combustion temperature are a few of them. This fuel can be used directly and with blending with conventional fuel in engines. Methanol can be produced from a variety of feedstock such as coal, natural gas, CO2, biomass, etc. through various processes like reforming the gas with steam, production with methanotrophic Bacteria, gasification process, carbon dioxide hydrogenation, synthesis through Syngas, direct oxidation of methane, etc. Although methanol has many adaptive properties to be used as a fuel individual and with levels of blending however there are many challenges too with methanol used as a fuel; its toxicity, fire safety concern, low cetane number, lower heating value, higher kinematic viscosity, low lubricity, high corrosive in nature are a few of them. This chapter deals with various aspects from scopes to limitations of methanol to be used in Internal Combustion Engines.

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Abbreviations

IC:

Internal Combustion

ON:

Octane Number

CN:

Cetane Number

CO:

Carbon Monoxide

HC:

Hydrocarbons

STP:

Standard temperature and pressure

GEM:

Gasoline–ethanol–methanol

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ganpat University, Mehsana, Gujarat, India

    Puneet Bansal & Ramnarayan Meena

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  1. Puneet Bansal
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  2. Ramnarayan Meena
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Correspondence to Puneet Bansal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Avinash Kumar Agarwal

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Hardikk Valera

  3. Quality and Dependability of Machines, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Martin Pexa

  4. Quality and Dependability of Machines, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Jakub Čedík

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Bansal, P., Meena, R. (2021). Methanol as an Alternative Fuel in Internal Combustion Engine: Scope, Production, and Limitations. In: Agarwal, A.K., Valera, H., Pexa, M., Čedík, J. (eds) Methanol. Energy, Environment, and Sustainability. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1224-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1224-4_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-1223-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-1224-4

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