Reply To: Fusion Oil

[JimmyT]

Brian H wrote:

The subject of using methanol as a motor fuel is suprisingly complex.

Point 1: The reaction of making methanol out of Carbon monoxide and Hydrogen is exothermic and reversible. What that means practically is that the methanol contains significantly less energy than the Carbon monoxide and hydrogen that produce it. However it is much easier to store than the component gases. This effect can be used to advantage my adding a “reformer” to each auto. The reformer would use waste engine heat to break down the methanol into the two gases used to produce it which once again will have much more energy than the origanal methanol. Result: an increase of efficiency of about 30%, if I remember my chemistry correctly.

Point 2: Methanol is highly toxic. Even it’s vapors are toxic, and the liquid methanol is readily absorbed thru the skin. The effect of exposure, even low level exposure repeatedly, is irreversible blindness. This material is far too toxic to be used in do it yourself fuel centers. So we would be back to attendants filling your car. And despite precautions, many of them will go blind. So an additional “cost” of widely adopting this fuel will be an army of blind ex-fuel attendants.

This is not meant to be an argument against using methanol as a fuel. It is just to point out a couple of unmentioned considerations.

Since the “waste heat” would be coming from the combustion of the gasses and/or methanol, there would be only a limited benefit, I believe. On account of the laws of thermodynamics and all. :cheese:

No, waste heat would come from engine exhaust gas (waste Heat).