gtc what about meths corrosive properties?
obviously we would new cars and would they be all fiberglass?
It would take a lot of engineering to create cars without any rubber seals or metal piping.
Moreso even for towing capacity and performance
i dont know if you'd need a complete new car. here's an article on it.
Methanol
<!-- TITLE BEFORE THIS LINE --><!-- BODY OF THE DOCUMENT FOLLOWS THIS LINE --> Methanol (CH
3OH) is a colorless, odorless, slightly flammable liquid, also called methyl alcohol or wood alcohol. Liquid methanol can be produced from just about anything containing carbon. Potential sources include natural gas, coal, and biomass. Currently most methanol is produced from natural gas, or methane, using steam, pressure, and a catalyst. Methane, a greenhouse gas, is also given off by decomposing vegetable matter in landfills – another source that could be tapped for methanol production.
History
Methanol was first discovered in 1823 by condensing gases from burning wood. Methanol has been used for more than 100 years as a solvent and as a chemical building block to make products such as plastics, plywood, and paint. It is also used directly in windshield-washer fluid and gas-line antifreeze, and as model airplane fuel.
Current Uses
Pure methanol (M100) has been used in heavy-duty trucks and transit buses equipped with compression-ignition diesel engines. Since 1965, M100 has been the official fuel for Indianapolis 500 race cars. (The last time gasoline was used in the Indianapolis 500 was in 1964, when the race suffered a pile-up of cars that resulted in a a gasoline fire and deaths.) Typically, a blend of 85 percent methanol and 15 percent gasoline (M85) is used in cars and light trucks. Pure methanol can also be reformed in fuel cells into hydrogen, which is then used to power electric vehicles.
Methanol-powered vehicles have been found largely in the West, primarily in California. They can also be seen in the fleets of the federal government and the New York State Thruway Authority.
Source, Availability, And Pricing
The United States produces almost one-quarter of theworld’s methanol supply. According to the American Methanol Institute (1998), about 75 percent of the methanol consumed in the United States is supplied by domestic chemical producers. The remaining supply comes from imports. Canada supplies about 13 percent, Trinidad, Venezuela, and Chile, 8 percent; Europe, Asia and the Middle East, 2 percent; and the remaining 2 percent come from miscellaneous sources. If demand increased, methanol could probably be made less expensively abroad and delivered by ship to the United States.
Storage and Safety
Because methanol is corrosive to some metals and damaging to rubber and some plastics, fuel storage tanks and dispensing equipment must be corrosion and damage resistant. California requires that underground storage tanks for methanol be doubled walled.
Because methanol is water soluble, it could be quickly diluted in large bodies of water to levels that are safe from organisms. Environmental recovery rates for methanol spills are often faster than for petroleum spills. As with gasoline, methanol can be fatal when ingested. Inhalation of fumes and direct contact with skin can also be harmful.
Because pure methanol flames are nearly invisible in daylight, gasoline is added as a safety precaution to provide color to a flame. Added gasoline also serves to add a smell to this otherwise odorless liquid. Because of its high flash point, methanol is less volatile than gasoline. It burns more slowly and at a lower temperature. Barge, truck or rail are the three main ways to transport methanol. In the event of an accident, a pure methanol (M100) fire can be extinguished with water, while a M85 fire, because of the 15 percent gasoline content, cannot. (Water on gasoline spreads fire.)
Performance
Power, acceleration and payload are comparable with those of other fuels in equivalent internal combustion engines. M85 has a high octane rating of 102, compared with 87 for regular unleaded gasoline and 92 for premium unleaded; properly tuned vehicles may experience 7 to 10 percent higher horsepower.
Vehicles using methanol have difficulty starting in temperatures below 0
° F. M85 includes 15 percent gasoline, which improves the starting ability in cold weather.
Range and Refueling
Methanol has about half the energy content of gasoline. With current engine technology, it takes about 1.64 to 1.7 gallons of M85 to go the same distance as with a gallon of gasoline. Because mileage using M85 is lower than mileage using gasoline, fueling is needed more frequently.
M85 can be dispensed from pumps in the same manner as gasoline or diesel. Because methanol is corrosive, however, fuel storage tanks and dispensing equipment must e corrosion resistant.
Maintenance and Vehicle Alterations
Methanol is especially damaging to rubber and plastic parts. Parts that come in contact with the fuel need to be damage resistant. These include the fuel tank, fuel lines, fuel injectors, fuel pumps and filters.
M85 is commonly used in fuel-flexible vehicles, which are specially designed to use combinations of methanol or regular unleaded gasoline stored in a single tank. The vehicles have a special sensor on the fuel line that can detect the ratio of methanol to gasoline in the fuel tank. The sensor conveys this information to an onboard computer, which automatically adjusts the vehicle’s fuel injection and ignition timing devices.
Emissions
The methanol molecule has a simple chemical structure, which leads to clan combustion; reports from emissions studies, however, vary more widely for methanol than for other fuel probably because of differences among fuel blends used across the country and because vehicles may not be optimized for using methanol. Comparisons of M100 with gasoline and diesel have shown these results:
Carbon monoxide: Emissions vary – sometimes lower, but are usually equal or slightly higher.
Ground-level-ozone-forming potential: 30 to 60 percent less. (In order to take advantage of this characteristic, vehicles must be properly adjusted.)
Nonmethane evaporative hydrocarbons: Usually less.
Toxics: M100 contains none of the carcinogenic ingredients such as benzene, 1,3-butadiene, and acetaldehyde. M85 (with 15 percent gasoline) has 50 percent fewer toxic air pollutants than gasoline.
Formaldehyde levels: Much higher, although still low. The toxicity of formaldehyde is lower than that of other toxics, and formaldehyde emissions can be reduced dramatically with new technology, such as improved catalytic converters.
Nitrogen oxides: Usually comparable or less.
Greenhouse gases: Comparable to gasoline.
Particulate matter: Buses using M100 emit significantly less than diesel-fueled buses.
Thanks to the
Northeast Susta