Alcohol fuel
The first four aliphatic alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol, and butanol) are of interest as fuels because they can be synthesized chemically or biologically, and they have characteristics which allow them to be used in internal combustion engines.
[2] Note that AKI refers to 'Anti-Knock Index' which averages the RON and MON ratings (RON+MON)/2, and is used on U.S. gas station pumps.
A test with E85 fueled Chevrolet Luminas showed that NMHC[3] went down by 20-22%, NOx by 25-32% and CO by 12-24% compared to reformulated gasoline.
Tailpipe emissions of CO2 also decrease due to the lower carbon-to-hydrogen ratio of these alcohols, and improved engine efficiency.
Soluble contaminants such as aluminum hydroxide, itself a product of corrosion by halide ions, clog the fuel system over time.
In addition, high quality alcohol should have a low concentration of contaminants and have a suitable corrosion inhibitor added.
A larger percentage of the energy released by combustion of a liter of alcohol fuel can be converted to useful work.
This is particularly relevant in temperate climates where fertilizers are needed to grow sugar or starch crops to make ethanol, whereas methanol can be produced from unfertilized lignocellulose (woody) biomass.
Compared to methanol its primary advantage is that it is less corrosive and non-toxic, although the fuel will produce some toxic exhaust emissions.
In particular, butanol has a high flash point of 35 °C, which is a benefit for fire safety, but may be a difficulty for starting engines in cold weather.
The concept of flash point is, however, not directly applicable to engines as the compression of the air in the cylinder means that the temperature is several hundred degrees Celsius before ignition takes place.
The company Energy Environment International developed a method for producing butanol from biomass, which involves the use of two separate micro-organisms in sequence to minimize production of acetone and ethanol byproducts.
[12] The Swiss company Butalco GmbH uses a special technology to modify yeasts in order to produce butanol instead of ethanol.
Brazil was until recently the largest producer of alcohol fuel in the world, typically fermenting ethanol from sugarcane.
[18] Because of the Brazilian leading production and technology, many countries became very interested in importing alcohol fuel and adopting the "Flex" vehicle concept.
National Committee of Planning and Action Coordination for Clean Automobile had listed key technologies related to alcohol/ether fuel and accelerated industrialization into its main agenda.
[22] E10 or Gasohol is commonly marketed in Delaware and E85 is found in many states, particularly in the Midwest where ethanol from corn is produced locally.
Many states and municipalities have mandated that all gasoline fuel be blended with 10 percent alcohol (usually ethanol) during some or all of the year.
Accidental vehicle fires where GAIAX was being refueled began to be reported in around 2000 when the tax evasion discussion had almost ended.
The car industry in Japan criticized GAIAX, saying that "fires broke out because high density alcohol had corroded the fuel pipes".
GAIAX was named a "high density alcohol fuel", and a campaign was executed to exclude it from the market long term.
The petroleum industry in Japan is now proceeding with research and development of an original alcohol fuel that differs from GAIAX.
However, the commercial manufacture and sale of any new fuel may be barred by existing laws that currently exclude GAIAX from the market.
