Alternative Fuel Sources - Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Advances in Transportation and Power - page 77

proves the performance of the cars but it is also considered much safer. It
is less flammable than gasoline and when it does ignite, it causes less se-
vere fires. One study for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
concluded, that the use of methanol can result in a 90% reduction in the
number of automotive fuel related fires compared to gasoline.
It is also toxic and a few teaspoons of methanol consumed orally can
cause blindness. A few tablespoons can be fatal, if not treated. Methanol is
also very corrosive, so it requires a special fuel-handling system.
Methanol also seems to biodegrade quickly when spilled and it dis-
solves and dilutes rapidly in water. It has been recommended as an alter-
native fuel by the EPA and the DOE, partly because of reduced urban air
pollutant emissions compared to gasoline. Most methanol-fueled vehicles
use a blend of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline called M85. Building a
methanol infrastructure would not be as difficult as converting to hydro-
gen. While methanol can be produced from natural gas, it can also be dis-
tilled from coal or even biomass. In the 1980s, methanol was popular for
a brief time as an internal-combustion fuel and President Bush even dis-
cussed this in a 1989 speech.
But, methanol is highly toxic and while it has some emissions bene-
fits it adds tangible amounts of formaldehyde to the air. The world metha-
nol infrastructure is the equivalent of about 5% of U.S. gasoline consump-
tion, but new sources could be built up quickly. A major manufacturer of
methanol, Methanex has stated that it could build a $350 million plant in
3 years that could fuel 500,000 cars.
Methanol can be pumped in existing gas stations, but since the fluid
is corrosive; the pumps, lines, and tanks would have to be made of stain-
less steel. If there is a demand, the costs would likely be handled by pri-
vate investors.
While hydrogen could be obtained with onboard reforming, one
problem is the presence of sulfur in the catalysts used in PEM type auto
fuel cells. One technique is to use a zinc-oxide bed to trap the sulfur, but
this adds to the cost, weight, and size of the reformer. Refineries could also
produce a new grade of gasoline with low-sulfur content. Along with be-
ing a smog enhancer, sulfur affects the performance of internal-combus-
tion catalytic converters in the same way as it affects fuel cells.
Sulfur can increase emissions by 20%. California uses low-sulfur fuel
and the concentration is about 40 parts per million. In the rest of the coun-
try it is about 350 parts per million. A national low- sulfur standard is es-
timated to add five cents per gallon to gasoline.