Methanol as an alternative transportation fuel in the U.S. · PDF fileMethanol as an alternative transportation fuel in the US: ... methanol as a practical ... significantly better

Methanol as an alternative transportation fuel in the US:

Options for sustainable and/or energy-secure transportation

L. Bromberg and W.K. Cheng

Prepared by the

Sloan Automotive Laboratory

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge MA 02139

September 27, 2010

Finalized November 2, 2010

Revised November 28, 2010

Final report

UT-Battelle Subcontract Number:4000096701

1

Abstract

Methanol has been promoted as an alternative transportation fuel from time to time

over the past forty years. In spite of significant efforts to realize the vision of

methanol as a practical transportation fuel in the US, such as the California methanol

fueling corridor of the 1990s, it did not succeed on a large scale. This white paper

covers all important aspects of methanol as a transportation fuel.

Keywords: methanol; transportation;use; production

2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Methanol has been used as a transportation fuel in US and in China. Flexible fuel

vehicles and filling stations for blends of methanol from M3 to M85 have been deployed.

It has not become a substantial fuel in the US because of its introduction in a period of

rapidly falling petroleum price which eliminates the economic incentive, and of the

absence of a strong methanol advocacy. Methanol has been displaced by ethanol as

oxygenate of choice in gasoline blends. Nevertheless, these programs have demonstrated

that methanol is a viable transportation fuel.

Large scale production of methanol from natural gas and coal is a well developed

technology. Methanol prices today are competitive with hydrocarbon fuels (on an energy

basis). There is progress on the economic conversion of biomass to methanol using

thermo-chemical processes. Sufficient feedstock of natural gas and coal exists to enable

the use of non-renewable methanol as a transition fuel to renewable methanol from

biomass. A variety of renewable feedstock is available in the US for sustainable

transportation with bio-methanol.

Analysis of the life cycle biomass-to-fuel tank energy utilization efficiency shows that

methanol is better than Fischer-Tropsch diesel and methanol-to-gasoline fuels; it is

significantly better than ethanol if a thermo-chemical process is used for both fuels.

The thermo-chemical plants for generation of methanol are expensive they are

approximately 1.8 times that of an equivalent (in terms of same annual fuel energy

output) bio-chemical ethanol plant.

Methanol has attractive features for use in transportation:

It is a liquid fuel which can be blended with gasoline and ethanol and can be used

with todays vehicle technology at minimal incremental costs.

It is a high octane fuel with combustion characteristics that allow engines

specifically designed for methanol fuel to match the best efficiencies of diesels

while meeting current pollutant emission regulations.

It is a safe fuel. The toxicity (mortality) is comparable to or better than gasoline.

It also biodegrades quickly (compared to petroleum fuels) in case of a spill.

Produced from renewable biomass, methanol is an attractive green house gas

reduction transportation fuel option in the longer term.

3

Multiple ways exist for introduction of methanol into the fuel infrastructure (light

blends or heavy blends) and into vehicles (light duty or heavy duty applications).

The optimal approaches are different in different countries and in different

markets.

To introduce methanol significantly into the market place, both methanol vehicles and

fuel infra structure have to be deployed simultaneously.

While significant investment needs to be made for large scale methanol deployment in the

transportation sector, there are no technical hurdles either in terms of vehicle application or of

distribution infrastructure. In comparison, the technology for bio-chemical ethanol production

from cellulosic biomass is not sufficiently developed yet.

Methanol from non-renewable coal or natural gas could be used as a bridging option towards

transition to renewable methanol for sustainable transportation. Methanol can readily be made

from natural gas or coal (there is plentiful supply in the US of both) so that large scale domestic

production, infrastructure, and vehicle use could be developed. The resulting transportation

system could then be transitioned to the renewable methanol. It should be further noted that such

system is also amenable to the use of renewable ethanol, should large scale bio-production of

cellulosic ethanol be realized in the future.

4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. HISTORY OF METHANOL AS A TRANSPORTATION FUEL IN THE U.S. ............. 7 A. VEHICLES ..................................................................................................................................................... 10 B. FUELS ........................................................................................................................................................... 11

II. RELEVANT EXPERIENCES OF OTHER COUNTRIES ............................................. 13 A. CHINA .......................................................................................................................................................... 13 B. EUROPEAN UNION METHANOL EXPERIENCE ................................................................................................16

III. U.S. PRODUCTION VOLUMES AND PRIMARY CURRENT USES ......................... 18 A. PRODUCTION PROCESSES .............................................................................................................................22 B. RESOURCES .................................................................................................................................................. 23

1) Natural gas .............................................................................................................................................. 23 2) Coal ......................................................................................................................................................... 25

C. RESERVE/PRODUCTION METHANOL POTENTIAL OF US FOSSIL RESOURCES...................................................25 D. OTHER REQUIREMENTS (CATALYSTS). ..........................................................................................................26

IV. FEASIBILITY OF PRODUCTION FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES ....................... 27 A. BIOMASS RESOURCES IN THE US ..................................................................................................................27 B. METHANOL PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY ..........................................................................................................30 C. LIFE CYCLE ENERGY EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS .................................................................................................32 D. METHANOL FROM BIOMASS: CAPITAL COST OF METHANOL PLANTS. ..........................................................34 E. METHANOL FROM BIOMASS: FEEDSTOCK COSTS .........................................................................................35 F. METHANOL FROM BIOMASS: PRODUCTION COSTS .......................................................................................36 G. METHANOL FROM BIOMASS: WATER REQUIREMENTS..................................................................................38 H. R&D IN THE US AND WORLDWIDE ...............................................................................................................39

V. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF METHANOL FUEL .................... 44

VI. REGULATED AND UNREGULATED EMISSIONS IMPACTS .................................. 46 A. COLD START EMISSION ................................................................................................................................. 47 B. GREEN HOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ....................................................................................................................47

VII. ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH IMPACTS ............................................................ 50 A. HEALTH IMPACT ........................................................................................................................................... 50 B. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ............................................................................................................................53

VIII. FUEL HANDLING AND SAFETY ISSUES .............................................................. 55 A. FUEL HANDLING: VAPOR PRESSURE AND PHASE STABILITY ..........................................................................55 B. SAFETY ......................................................................................................................................................... 55

IX. OTHER END USE ISSUES FOR TRANSPORTATION ................................................ 56 A. FEDERAL INCENTIVES FOR METHANOL VEHICLES .........................................................................................56 B. MATERIAL COMPATIBILITY ..........................................................................................................................56

X. RELATIVE PROMISE AS A WIDELY USED TRANSPORTATION FUEL ............. 58 A. VEHICLES PERFORMANCE ......................................................................................................................