Is Methanol Using Co<sub>2</sub> From the Atmosphere a New Fuel to Replace Gasoline?

Abstract

The recent disaster in the Gulf has drawn attention to the longevity of the oil supply and what alternative to gasoline is the appropriate fuel to which we should turn. The suggestion of Methanol as a substitute for gasoline as been greatly strengthened by George Olah in his publication "Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy". However, there remained the question of burning methanol without special attention to its method of synthesis which would not add to the CO 2 content of the atmosphere. Hydrogen has often been suggested as an alternative fuel because it burns clean. A comparison is made of Hydrogen and Methanol synthesized with hydrogen and CO 2 from the atmosphere or biomass. The cost of the methanol as prepared would be $28 to $31 per GJ. Development is needed in the method by which to obtain the CO 2 from the atmosphere in a stream. Three possible methods are outlined. Only one has been subject to detailed system analysis. However, two independent calculations give highly similar costs. Water, air and wind to produce hydrogen for electrolysis of water, are the only resources necessary to make the methanol required. Changing over to any alternative fuel will impact the Oil companies. However, a change to methanol could be a long term solution for them; whereas a trend towards electricity as the overall medium of energy would not be.

Peramalan Permintaan Pasokan Energi Berdasarkan Intensitas Konsumsi Listrik dan Kapasitas Pembangkit Listrik Terpasang

“…Semakin maju suatu negara, semakin besar energi yang dibutuhkannya. Jika dilihat dari sumber pengadaan energi dunia saat ini, sumber minyak dan gas adalah sumber utama [1]. Sumber!…”

Green methanol from hydrogen and carbon dioxide using geothermal energy and/or hydropower in Iceland or excess renewable electricity in Germany

“…CO 2 from geothermal fluids must be separated mainly from H 2 S [24]. The challenge of CO 2 recovery from atmospheric air is the relatively low CO 2 concentrations [21,25]. CO 2 can be recovered by passing a CO 2 -containing medium through a solid or liquid absorber (this can be either MEA (monoethanolamine), MDEA (methyldiethanolamine), NaOH (sodium hydroxide) or MgO (magnesium oxide)).…”

Long-term Electricity Demand Forecasting of Sumatera System Based on Electricity Consumption Intensity and Indonesia Population Projection 2010-2035

“…Based on the fuel type, electricity has been the most used after the oil [1]. One of many reasons because of the electricity does not produce emission when it used [2]. Other advantages of electricity are easy to transmitted, easy to use and a lot of devices on earth need electricity as power source.…”