Engineering Options In The Choice Of Automotive Fuels In The Next Decade

Within the next decade there may be significant developments toward “new” automotive fuels--either alternative fuel forms or traditional fuels from non-petroleum sources. These include methanol as the most likely alternative fuel form, hydrocarbons from coal or from oil shale, and modified conventional fuels from either traditional or alternative sources. The characteristics of traditional fuels will not change significantly solely as a result of using synthetic crude in refinery feedstocks. Increased use of distillate transportation fuels could result in process energy savings, but, measured roughly, beyond a 1:1 distillate/gasoline ratio, increased automotive diesel demand may involve process energy penalty.