ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the potential, production methods, and fuel properties of methanol as well as its engine performance, combustion, and emissions. Methanol is the chemically simplest alcohol, containing one carbon atom per molecule. Biodiesel can be produced from a large variety of vegetable oils and animal fats that react with methanol in a transesterification process to produce biodiesel. Methanol can also be used in fuel cells—for fuel cell vehicles—which are considered to be the best alternative to internal combustion engines in the transportation field. Methanol production via synthesis gas depends on the feedstock of choice in varying proportions. The production of methanol from coal is not that simple. Coal contains many other compounds and impurities that would interfere with the methanol synthesis process. Biomass can be converted to synthesis gas by a process called partial oxidation and later converted to methanol. The global market in methanol has seen considerable structural changes since the early 1990s.
