On June 9, 2011 MIT released its long awaited study on the future of natural gas in the US. Chapter 5 of the attached report relates to methanol and the recommendation is:
"The U.S. government should implement an open fuel standard that requires automobile manufacturers to provide tri-flex-fuel operation in light-duty vehicles."
Fuel Cost:
- With deployment of new plants, using existing technology, methanol could be produced from U.S. natural gas at a cost less than U.S. gasoline price in 2010 of around $2.30/gallon (excluding the tax).
- The spread between gasoline price and methanol cost is around $1/gge
- The production cost of natural gas conversion to diesel fuel is projected to be around 30% higher than methanol on an energy-equivalent basis.
- Methanol could be used in tri-flexible-fuel, light-duty (and heavy-duty) vehicles in a manner similar to present ethanol-gasoline flex fuel vehicles, with modest incremental vehicle cost. These tri-flex-fuel vehicles could be operated on a wide range of mixtures of methanol, ethanol and gasoline.
- Adding methanol capability to a factory 85% ethanol blend (E85) vehicle, to create tri-flex fuel capability, would require an air/fuel mixture control to accommodate an expanded fuel/air range with addition of an alcohol sensor and would result in an extra cost of $100 to $200, most likely at the lower end of that range with sufficient production.
- The toxicity of methanol is similar to gasoline.
- With the energy loss during conversion of natural gas to methanol taken into account, the well-to-wheels CO2 emissions from using natural gas derived methanol is slightly lower than gasoline.
- Methanol is soluble in water and is biodegradable.
Leaders of All major US Jewish organizations endorse Open Fuel Standards bill
This Week in Politics
Dear Majority Leader Reid:
Dear Minority Leader McConnell:
...
Our continued dependence on oil produced through drilling in nations whose interests are inimical to those of the United States and our allies opens our nation to added political and international danger at a time of turmoil and uncertainty, with enormous negative consequences for our economy, foreign policy and national security. It is for that reason that we strongly support changes in U.S. energy policy that would reduce our dependence on oil, in particular foreign oil imported from hostile nations - and particularly urge that any Senate energy bill include the Open Fuel Standard, which has been introduced in the Senate as S.835 with bipartisan support, and which is included in a modified (and less satisfactory) form in the House climate bill (H.R.2454).
...
>>> Click HERE to download whole letter. (PDF 54.8KB)<<<
Excerpts from recent Articles
ZUBRIN: The folly of blocking natural-gas exports
Interfering with markets makes energy more expensive, not less
The boom in American natural-gas production during the past several years, and the consequent crash of domestic natural-gas prices, has caused many to call for the liberation of U.S. natural-gas exports.
...
>>> Click HERE to continue reading.<<<
Pass the Open Fuel Standard
Congress should mandate that cars accept more kinds of fuel, to maximize our energy options.
On June 25, a bipartisan group of congressmen led by Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.), Steve Israel (D., N.Y.), Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.), Collin Peterson (D., Minn.), and Tom Cole (R., Okla.) introduced an excellent bill to the House floor: H.R. 2493, the Open Fuel Standard Act of 2013.
...
>>> Click HERE to continue reading.<<<
Obama’s Energy Plan: Impoverish America
Is this the worst presidential initiative ever?
On June 25, President Obama gave a speech outlining his energy plan for America. The centerpiece is a directive for the Environmental Protection Agency to develop new regulations that will make it virtually impossible to generate electricity from coal in the United States.
...
>>> Click HERE to continue reading.<<<
>>> Click HERE download the chart above as a PDF. <<<
>>> Click HERE download the chart above in Excell. <<<
>>> Click HERE download a PDF of print edition. <<<
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