The Upsurge of Methanol Gasoline

At present, a kind of new gasoline called “methanol gasoline” has been being developed all over the world. For example, various companies in China are setting up production bases of methanol gasoline. The products can be bought from gas stations. These gas stations are not administrated by the Sinopec. They would like to introduce some new products to explore the market.

The methanol gasoline refers to the gasoline added with a moderate content of methyl alcohol. The popular M15 methanol gasoline at present is composed of 85% of gasoline and 15% of methyl alcohol (containing additives). The manufacturers have used nearly ten years to develop the technology of adding additives into the gasoline. Without additives, gasoline and methyl alcohol can not be mixed directly.

In order to introduce the methanol gasoline to more and more people, some problems should be dealt with by the manufacturers. Methyl alcohol is produced with various features, such as low calorific value, high production cost, strong corrosivity and severe toxicity. Methanol is a kind of chemical material with moderate toxicity. Although no big accident in the world can prove the harms of methanol gasoline, the dangerous accidents can be caused because of the dangerous nature of gasoline. At the same time, the strong corrosivity of the gasoline should be strictly controlled. The corrosivity can be decreased by controlling the content of water. Some carmakers have clearly expressed that the automobiles using methanol gasoline can not be guaranteed in good repair.

From the technical level, the stability of methanol gasoline should be further proved. It is difficult to say whether some problems can be caused by the mixture of methyl alcohol and the general gasoline. Some people even use the methyl alcohol gasoline at high proportion. The content of methanol in this kind of gasoline is relatively high and the automobiles should be particularly improved so as to prevent the possible accidents.

Except methyl alcohol gasoline, other kinds of new gasoline have also been improved. For example, the general gasoline can be improved to produce energy-saving gasoline and the raw material is still oil. In addition, some people even use soy beans to produce gasoline. The scientists in America find that the soy beans contain nitrogen fixing bacteria which can produce vanadium nitrogenase. The improved vanadium nitrogenase can change air into gasoline. With the development of modern scientific technology, the gasoline will be improved to be more energy-saving and more environmental-friendly.