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posted by Fnord666 on Friday February 22 2019, @01:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the disco-is-back dept.

Methanol—a colorless liquid that can be made from agricultural waste—has long been touted as a green alternative to fossil fuels. But it’s toxic and only has half the energy as the same volume of gasoline. Now, researchers report they’ve created a potentially cheap way to use sunlight to convert methanol to ethanol, a more popular alternative fuel that’s less harmful and carries more energy.

The new report is “great work” says Zhongmin Liu, a chemist at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics in China who was not involved with the research. If the process can be optimized and scaled up, he says, “It has the potential to change the world.”

The notion of converting methanol to ethanol isn’t new. Companies already have a trio of chemical processes that do so. But these require adding heat, pressure, and toxic additives, such as carbon monoxide. Companies can also make ethanol directly by fermenting corn kernels or sugarcane. But growing those crops requires precious farmland that could otherwise grow food. Researchers and companies have also come up with ways to convert agricultural wastes into ethanol. So far, however, these have proved too costly to be competitive.


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @02:50PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 22 2019, @02:50PM (#805045)

    from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol [wikipedia.org]

    Methanol acquired the name wood alcohol because it was once produced chiefly by the destructive distillation of wood.

    from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol_fuel [wikipedia.org]

    Pure methanol is required by rule to be used in Champcars, Monster Trucks, USAC sprint cars (as well as midgets, modifieds, etc.), and other dirt track series, such as World of Outlaws, and Motorcycle Speedway, mainly because, in the event of an accident, methanol does not produce an opaque cloud of smoke. Since the late 1940s, Methanol is also used as the primary fuel ingredient in the powerplants for radio control, control line and free flight model aircraft (see below), cars and trucks; such engines use a platinum filament glow plug that ignites the methanol vapor through a catalytic reaction. Drag racers, mud racers, and heavily modified tractor pullers also use methanol as the primary fuel source. Methanol is required with a supercharged engine in a Top Alcohol Dragster and, until the end of the 2006 season, all vehicles in the Indianapolis 500 had to run on methanol. As a fuel for mud racers, methanol mixed with gasoline and nitrous oxide produces more power than gasoline and nitrous oxide alone.

    Beginning in 1965, pure methanol was used widespread in USAC Indy car competition, which at the time included the Indianapolis 500.

    Safety was the predominant influence for the adoption of menthanol fuel in the United States open-wheel racing categories. Unlike petroleum fires, methanol fires can be extinguished with plain water. A methanol-based fire burns invisibly, unlike gasoline, which burns with a visible flame. If a fire occurs on the track, there is no flame or smoke to obstruct the view of fast approaching drivers, but this can also delay visual detection of the fire and the initiation of fire suppression. A seven-car crash on the second lap of the 1964 Indianapolis 500 resulted in USAC's decision to encourage, and later mandate, the use of methanol. Eddie Sachs and Dave MacDonald died in the crash when their gasoline-fueled cars exploded. The gasoline-triggered fire created a dangerous cloud of thick black smoke that completely blocked the view of the track for oncoming cars. Johnny Rutherford, one of the other drivers involved, drove a methanol-fueled car, which also leaked following the crash. While this car burned from the impact of the first fireball, it formed a much smaller inferno than the gasoline cars, and one that burned invisibly. That testimony, and pressure from The Indianapolis Star writer George Moore, led to the switch to alcohol fuel in 1965.

    Methanol was used by the CART circuit during its entire campaign (1979–2007). It is also used by many-short track organizations, especially midget, sprint cars and speedway bikes. Pure methanol was used by the IRL from 1996-2006.

    In 2006, in partnership with the ethanol industry, the IRL used a mixture of 10% ethanol and 90% methanol as its fuel. Starting in 2007, the IRL switched to "pure" ethanol, E100.[14]

    Methanol fuel is also used extensively in drag racing, primarily in the Top Alcohol category, while between 10% and 20% methanol may be used in Top Fuel classes in addition to Nitromethane.

    Formula One racing continues to use gasoline as its fuel, but in prewar grand prix racing methanol was often used in the fuel.

    Methanol is also used in Monster Truck racing.

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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday February 22 2019, @07:37PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 22 2019, @07:37PM (#805267) Journal

    This is not race car fuel.

    TFA said GREEN fuel. Isn't race car fuel transparent?

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.