Potential for Methanol as an Automotive Fuel

Multiple cyl engine tests demonstrated that lean methanol operation gave improved tail pipe emissions and better Btu efficiency than gasoline. The reductions in NO_x emissions were particularly significant. Some loss in maximum power output was experienced, but the loss was less than that for gasoline operation at equivalent NO_x emissions. This program was directed toward making the minimum number of engine modifications to simplify retrofitting of existing vehicles to utilize methanol.