What is Methanol? Well it is wood alcohol or methl-alcohol and for automobiles there is an M85 Blend, which is like the Ethanol E85 Blend. The M85 Blend has 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent methanol. In the United States our methanol blends use natural gas but we can also make it from coal, biogas, sewage were even cow pies, pasture patties, meadow muffins, sidewalk Sundays and well, you get the point.
The good thing about methanol is the octane rating is fairly high in that means good performance and even better performance than normal gasoline. The methanol can be unstable it is used in some high performance racecars, but when it is mixed with gasoline it is not quite is dangerous.
Since most methanol is made from natural gas and natural gas can be expensive it can be problematic and it is difficult to store because it is very corrosive. Ethanol is much more efficient and you get better economy than with ethanol. Ethanol refineries cost less to build also, as methanol refineries are really distilleries and when you make methanol from natural gas you actually get CO2, which believes the atmosphere or has to be collected.
All in all ethanol is the better bet and this is why ethanol E85 has been chosen as the biofuel of choice for our cars. Of course Methanol makes sense to power other things and it can be an option in other endeavors. Consider this in 2006.
Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/
