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The point is that methanol is a liquid which you can pour into a tank like regular gasoline and will run with many existing engine designs. It is also useful f
by retrac 4y ago
The point is that methanol is a liquid which you can pour into a tank like regular gasoline and will run with many existing engine designs. It is also useful for a variety of industrial purposes. Similarly, methane can be piped in existing natural gas infrastructure and burned in existing boilers. Hydrogen, by comparison, is hard to store, harder to work with, and lower density.
There is no readily available carbon-neutral substitute for aviation fuel, gasoline, artificial fertilizers, or even natural gas. Synthesis from carbon-neutral power would provide it. Germany liquefied coal into methane and methanol at an industrial scale during WW II due to lack of oil imports. This is the same idea, just switching the heat and CO2 and H2 to a different source besides coal.
It's also possible to synthesize ammonia (fundamental to synthetic fertilizers and all kinds of chemistry) from H2 + N2 + C02 + heat in the presence of a catalyst.
- pfdietz 4y agoWhy is hydrogen itself, turned into ammonia, not a substitute for use of fossil fuels to make artificial fertilizers. Sure, urea contains carbon, but there are plenty of N fertilizers other than urea.
- kyleyeats 4y agoEthanol is a carbon-neutral substitute for gasoline, no?
- Schroedingersat 4y agoCrop ethanol uses an extremely large amount of land for the energy. US corn ethanol uses about 2 acres to support one car. And this has a large fossil fuel input (possibly with a net carbon output depending on fertilizer use and how it's distilled). For a rough efficiency comparison, if there were some hypothetical 80% efficient solar panel and annual storage wasn't a concern, it could power the car with just the sunlight that hit it.
- fooker 4y agoEthanol can be potentially carbon neutral, given a ton of terms and preconditions.
- coderenegade 4y agoIt can be, but methanol is produced catalytically, unlike ethanol, which is made via fermentation and competes with crops for arable land. You can make ethanol catalytically as well, but afaik it typically involves making methanol first. Methanol has slightly less energy density, but it has the advantage of burning cleaner than any other fuel (no carbon-carbon bonds, so no soot), and it's easier to crack using waste heat, which is a pathway to more efficient engines (you can boost the LHV of the fuel by around 20% this way).