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Topic: Methanol economy

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	Methanol Summary
		Because of its poisonous properties, methanol is frequently used as a denaturant additive for ethanol manufactured for industrial uses— this addition of a poison economically exempts industrial ethanol from the rather significant 'liquor' taxes that would otherwise be levied as it is the essence of all potable alcoholic beverages.
		Methanol is used on a limited basis to fuel internal combustion engines, mainly by virtue of the fact that it is not nearly as flammable as gasoline.
		Methanol is required with a supercharged engine in a Top Alcohol Dragster and, until the end of the 2005 season, all vehicles in the Indianapolis 500 had to run methanol.
	www.bookrags.com /Methanol (4639 words)

	The New Atlantis - The Methanol Alternative - Robert Zubrin
		The authors dub their proposal the “methanol economy.” Methanol is commonly known as “wood alcohol” because it can be produced from wood; it can also be made from coal, natural gas, methane hydrates, any type of biomass, or urban waste.
		Unlike gasoline, methanol is not a carcinogen or a mutagen, and the pollutants and other emissions from methanol-powered internal combustion engines are far more benign than emissions from their gasoline-driven counterparts.
		Under such conditions, with methanol producible for a fraction of the cost of gasoline, the methanol pumps would appear soon enough, and the methanol economy envisioned by Olah and his collaborators would soon follow.
	www.thenewatlantis.com /archive/13/zubrin.htm (1361 words)

	What is Methanol ? (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		Methanol is the simplest alcohol compound, comprised of one carbon atom, one oxygen atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH3OH).
		Methanol was first discovered in 1661, though it had been used without isolation by peoples as far back as the Egyptians in their embalming processes.
		This methanol is usually produced using a fossil fuel as the synthesis gas, either natural gas or petroleum.
	www.wisegeek.com /what-is-methanol.htm (465 words)

	Fuel Cell Works Supplemental News Page
		The hydrogen economy -- with its vision of gas-guzzling engines replaced by hydrogen fuel cells that produce water instead of smog and greenhouse gases -- is a big mistake, according to George Olah, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
		Methanol is a very simple chemical that can be made in a very efficient way.
		So the second leg of our methanol economy approach is to regenerate or recycle carbon dioxide initially from sources where it is present in high concentrations, like flue gases from a power plant burning natural gas.
	www.fuelcellsworks.com /Supppage4673.html (1098 words)

	A methanol economy rather than a hydrogen one?
		Another problem is that methanol vapour is heavier than air and, unless there is good ventilation, it will linger close to the ground or in a maintenance pit where the mixture of vapour and air is liable to be set alight by a spark if the concentration of methanol is above 6.7%.
		Despite the problems, the methanol economy is an option that Ireland should certainly consider, not as an alternative to the hydrogen economy but as a supplement to it.
		Methanol would allow hydrogen from surplus wind-generated electricity to be combined with biomass grown on farms and the resulting fuel sold throughout Europe.
	www.feasta.org /documents/wells/two/panel2.html (1432 words)

	FUEL CELL VEHICLES
		Methanol has been used as a chemical feedstock for a long time, and the chemical industry has shown that, with the right precautions, it can be handled safely.
		Methanol is more acutely toxic than gasoline, so extensive precautions must be taken to avoid the risk of accidental ingestion.
		Methanol dissolves in water and evaporates or biodegrades quickly, so the concentration of methanol following a spill will typically be low enough for recovery to begin soon after the spill, resulting in substantial recovery within a few months of the spill.
	www.house.gov /science/holmes_100599.htm (2945 words)

	Fuel Cell Works Supplemental News Page
		But methanol would be far better than the more reactive and volatile hydrogen, argues George Olah, a chemist and Nobel laureate, in a new book, Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy.
		But methanol has some drawbacks: it has lower vapor pressure than gasoline, which makes engines sluggish on cold starts, and it burns with an invisible flame, which could be a safety hazard, since it would be hard for emergency workers to detect in an accident, for example.
		Methanol is an even better automotive fuel when used in combination with fuel-cell technology, says Paul Erickson, assistant professor in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Davis.
	www.fuelcellsworks.com /Supppage4854.html (1130 words)

	Fuel Cell Stocks (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		Olah believes so: "In contrast to hydrogen, methanol is an easily obtained liquid energy carrier, suitable as a fuel and also a good raw material for the synthesis of the basic products of chemical industry." Methanol is an optimal "storage medium" for hydrogen, which can easily be retrieved and fed into hydrogen fuel cells.
		Currently, methanol is still produced from fossil fuels, especially from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen derived from natural gas (Fischer-Tropsch chemistry).
		Says Olah: "Methanol could, in the future, be formed from the reaction of carbon dioxide with hydrogen." Exhaust gases from power plants and many industrial emissions contain considerable amounts of carbon dioxide, which can in future easily be isolated.
	www.fuelcellstocks.com /Articles/methanol/50503methanol.htm (437 words)

	Hydrogen economy or methanol economy? at Seeker Blog
		The hydrogen economy — with its vision of gas-guzzling engines replaced by hydrogen fuel cells that produce water instead of smog and greenhouse gases — is a big mistake, according to George Olah, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
		Methanol is also an excellent fuel in its own right, including its use in the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) that we developed jointly with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of California Institute of Technology.
		Methanol, significantly, can also be directly converted catalytically into ethylene or propylene and subsequently to varied hydrocarbons and their products presently obtained from oil and natural gas.
	seekerblog.com /test/?p=832 (1007 words)

	Methanol economy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		In 2005, Nobel prize winner George A. Olah published an essay advocating the methanol economy.
		He lists arguments against the hydrogen economy and discusses the generation of methanol from carbon dioxide or methane.
		A discussion of the Methanol Economy with George Olah Recording of a program broadcast on NPR.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Methanol_economy (695 words)

	Technology Review: The Methanol Economy (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		Methanol Farms by Guest (Lee) 8/14/2006 12:00 AM The ethanol guy says he gets 2.5 gallons of ethanol per bushel of corn and 150 bushels of corn per acre.
		Methanol as a fuel source by Guest (R. Maguire) 3/2/2006 12:00 AM In WW2, the Germans were able to make ersatz fuel to run their tanks.
		Methanol is NOT stupid by futtemi 12/1/2006 3:15 PM Methanol is not stupid if produced from CO2 from flue gas.
	www.technologyreview.com /BizTech/wtr_16466,296,p1.html (4121 words)

	Amazon.com: Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy: Books: George A. Olah,Alain Goeppert,G. K. Surya Prakash (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		The main section then focuses on the methanol economy, including the conversion carbon dioxide from industrial exhausts (such as flue gases from fossil fuel burning power plants) and carbon dioxide contained in the atmoshere into convenient liquid methanol for fuel uses (notably in fuel cells) and as a raw material for hydrocarbons.
		Methanol would then be one of the prime carriers of this energy, and an alternate source for all petrochemicals.
		What Methanol needs is scions (sound bites for short witted Americans), and advocates such as a Hillary for whom Methanol would be an additional stigma (she ain't gonna get there anyway folks) but who could at least put it on the table.
	www.amazon.com /Beyond-Oil-Gas-Methanol-Economy/dp/3527312757 (2817 words)

	Technology Review: Methanol: The New Hydrogen
		Olah notes that methanol, a clean-burning liquid, would require only minor modifications to existing engines and fuel-delivery infrastructure (see "The Methanol Economy").
		Methanol is poisonous by Guest (David Weiseth) 3/29/2006 12:00 AM We would need to contain it well to prevent blindness.
		Methanol as a fuel by Guest (Chuck Stone) 4/25/2006 12:00 AM Right catalyst will make high energy methanol cheaper and better than pure methanol - higher btu - better cumbustion.
	www.technologyreview.com /BizTech-Energy/wtr_16629,296,p1.html (1065 words)

	C&EN: IT'S ELEMENTAL: THE PERIODIC TABLE - CARBON
		A challenging new approach that we are pursuing is to reverse the process and produce hydrocarbons from carbon dioxide and water via methanol, thus chemically recycling carbon dioxide.
		Methanol is a convenient liquid that can be produced by reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
		Thus, methanol is both a fuel and a source of hydrocarbons.
	pubs.acs.org /cen/80th/print/carbon.html (767 words)

	IdaTech \| Solutions \| Multi-Fuel Solutions \| Methanol (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		But methanol is also an ideal source of hydrogen to power today's fuel cells.
		Widely distributed and cost-competitive, methanol is clearly an innovative fuel with a bright future.
		Methanol reforming offers real benefits over other fuels, especially when considering the inherent capital cost and reliability advantages.
	www.idatech.com /solutions/multi_fuel_solutions/methanol.html (398 words)

	Zinc economy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		The zinc economy is a concept similar to the hydrogen economy, methanol economy, ethanol economy, lithium economy or liquid nitrogen economy.
		The zinc economy is an alternative to or a route toward a hydrogen economy.
		Under the zinc economy, metallic elemental zinc would be used as an alternative to elemental hydrogen as an energy transfer medium (a fuel).
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Zinc_economy (365 words)

	Article:Methanol -- Ethanol's Sister Product - PESWiki
		Sources of methanol are almost endless: Grass clippings, raked leaves in the fall, wood chips, and everyday kitchen waste.
		Methanol from coal is has the same properties as methanol from any other source.
		Methanol is the primitive building block for petroleum (in other words before petroleum could come into existence there first had to be the production of methane (which is methanol).
	peswiki.com /index.php/Article:Methanol_--_Ethanol's_Sister_Product (1546 words)

	Chemical & Engineering News: Books - A Methanol Proposal
		Those are some of the tough, big-picture questions tackled in "Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy" by George Olah, Alain Goeppert, and G. Surya Prakash, all of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute at the University of Southern California.
		The methanol economy, they write, "offers a new way in which convenient and safe reversible energy storage and transportation can be achieved in the form of a simple, easy to handle liquid chemical-methanol.
		The ready conversion of methanol to synthetic hydrocarbons and their products will ensure that future generations will have access to the essential products and materials that today form an integral part of our life.
	pubs.acs.org /cen/books/84/8440books.html (735 words)

	Technology
		Methanol (MeOH) is currently the high energy density fuel of choice for fuel cells that will replace many portable device batteries.
		Methanol can also be used to produce animal feed, as well as enhance plant and algae growth.
		Methanol can also be used in sewage treatment plants to increase the rate of sewage processing by encouraging growth of bacteria and algae.
	www.oceanethanol.com /site/Technology.html (2537 words)

	CNN.com - Nature - Tree plantations: Australia's future fuel source? - August 24, 2000
		To hear Foran tell it, Australians could be traveling in vehicles powered by methanol produced from plantations of trees covering 30 million hectares (74.1 million acres) of the country's cropland and high rainfall pasture zones, all within the next 50 years.
		"Methanol would be produced from the 'biomass' of forests growing under a 20-year rotation at a rate of 20 cubic meters a year," he noted.
		A methanol economy "would successfully 'decarbonize' economic growth in Australia and also help restore degraded areas of land in Australia," Foran said.
	www.cnn.com /2000/NATURE/08/24/australia.trees.enn (803 words)

	CO2 Recycling
		Recycling CO2 is advocated by George A. Olah, professor of chemistry and director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute at the University of Southern California, and winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on carbocation and hydrocarbon chemistry.
		The production of methanol directly from still-available fossil fuel sources, and the recycling of carbon dioxide via hydrogenative reductions, are– we believe – feasible and convenient ways to store energy generated from all possible sources including, alternative energy sources (solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, etc.) and atomic energy.
		Methanol produced from this CO2 (using any energy source to produce the required hydrogen from water), is an excellent fuel on its own for internal combustion engines or fuel cells of the future.
	www.americanenergyindependence.com /recycleco2.html (1673 words)

	DMFC, Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, technology -- DTI Energy Inc.
		The Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, DMFC, technology developed under the supervision of Dr. Rao Surumpudi supervisor of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology's electrochemical-technology group is the basis for the patents and license for which DTI Energy has control.
		Direct Methanol Fuel Cells are ideal for power generation, either connected to the electric grid to provide supplemental power and backup assurance for critical areas, or installed as a grid-independent generator for on-site service in areas that are inaccessible by power lines.
		On one side of this membrane, a methanol and water mixture is fed to an anode catalyst that separates the methanol molecule into hydrogen atoms and carbon dioxide.
	www.dtienergy.com /french/index.html (3324 words)

	CSIRO - 30 million trees for car fuel, greenhouse cuts
		Australians could be travelling in vehicles powered by methanol produced from plantations of trees that cover 30 million hectares of our croplands and high rainfall pasture zones within the next 50 years.
		The model assumes that the population grows to 25 million by 2050 and food exports are maintained at current levels, and that renewable energy and more efficient electricity production continue to be implemented to reflect government policies on greenhouse gas emissions.
		"Methanol would be produced from the 'biomass' of forests growing under a 20-year rotation at a rate of 20 cubic metres a year.
	www.csiro.au /files/mediaRelease/mr2000/ForanEnergy.htm (688 words)

	The Methanol Economy: Forget about the hydrogen economy. Methanol is the key ...
		methanol is part of the "hydrogen economy" though.
		In order to produce large quantities of methanol it is necessary to rely on those evil companies who drill wells to produce natural gas.
		Methanol could even be created from excess power production from new nuclear facilities.
	www.freerepublic.com /focus/f-news/1588553/posts (3208 words)

	Biofuel - Article from FactBug.org - the fast Wikipedia mirror site (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-13)
		Ethanol produced from corn is being used as a gasoline additive (oxygenator) in the United States.
		Methanol, which is currently produced from natural gas, can also be produced from biomass — although this is not economically viable at present.
		The methanol economy is an interesting alternative to the hydrogen economy.
	www.factbug.org /cgi-bin/a.cgi?a=188543 (806 words)

	Environment & Nature News - Dreaming of a methanol economy - 17/08/2000
		An Australian economy run entirely on methanol, rather than fossil fuels, could be achievable within 50 years, according to a CSIRO expert.
		CSIRO's Barney Foran told the Fifth International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies that Australians could be driving cars powered with methanol if 30 million hectares of trees could be established on croplands and high rainfall pasture zones.
		The model predicts that if methanol were to replace 90 per cent of Australia's oil and transport requirements, 400,000 ha a year would need to be planted, at a cost of $2,500 a hectare.
	www.abc.net.au /science/news/enviro/EnviroRepublish_164305.htm (299 words)

	AgJournal On-line - Action on ethanol and biodiesel
		August 17, 2000 -- Australians could be travelling in vehicles powered by methanol produced from plantations of trees that cover 30 million hectares of the nation's croplands and
		"Methanol would be produced from the 'biomass' of forests growing under a 20-year rotation at a rate of 20 cubic meters a year.
		The model's scenario also predicted the generation of 100,000 direct jobs by 2020 and more than 400,000 by 2050 with the new methanol economy.
	www.countryroads.net /agjournal/story.cfm?story_id=953 (491 words)

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