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    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <atom:link href="https://trid.trb.org/Record/RSS?s=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" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
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    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
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    <item>
      <title>Alternative Fuel Vehicles’ Feasibility in Developing Countries: Current Challenges and Future Scope</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2671547</link>
      <description><![CDATA[As fossil fuel supplies are being depleted and their negative effects on the environment become more apparent, research into renewable energy sources and alternative fuels has increased. Developing countries face the dual challenge of rising energy demand from population growth and urbanization, alongside the necessity to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this regard, the present study reviews the viability, environmental effects, and infrastructure requirements of alternative fuels such as hydrogen, biofuels, electricity, methanol, natural gas, and ammonia. Although hydrogen and ammonia exhibit potential as carbon-free alternatives, issues with transport, storage, and manufacturing costs are impeding their uptake. Electric vehicles, while beneficial for short-distance travel, face limitations in range and resource availability. Biofuels offer a viable short-term solution but struggle with feedstock procurement and the food-versus-fuel debate. The study also looks at how governmental assistance and technical developments could promote the widespread use of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). It also examines the role of ammonia as a promising carbon-free fuel with a mature infrastructure capable of mitigating hydrogen’s key drawbacks. The insights aim to aid policymakers and researchers in making informed decisions to achieve sustainable mobility, thereby reducing reliance on fossil fuels and supporting global climate goals. The study underscores the urgency of a diversified approach to decarbonizing the transport sector, leveraging the strengths of each fuel type to overcome individual limitations and achieve significant reductions in fossil fuel dependency and carbon emissions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:01:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2671547</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Practical Approach Towards Green Methanol as Maritime Propellant</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2579998</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Maritime transport plays an essential role in the EU economy and is one of the most energy-efficient modes of transport. Nevertheless, it is as well a large and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, the use of alternative carbon-neutral propellants in shipping must be investigated and promoted. Green methanol is a promising candidate as a future maritime propellant, which is currently investigated in the scope of the research project MariSynFuel funded by the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. At the project’s core is the development and construction of a facility for manufacturing green methanol on a demonstration scale in Bremerhaven, Germany, and the direct use of the fuel for the newly-built research ship ‘Uthörn’ of the Alfred Wegener Institute. The vessel, christened in November 2022, is equipped with two diesel engines retrofitted for methanol combustion. Because methanol has favourable storage and transport characteristics, it has numerous advantages in terms of storage and handling compared to pure hydrogen or ammonia. It is also biodegradable, which is important in the event of accidents at sea or in ports. In addition, existing tank farms and tank transporters can be converted with little effort and continued to be used. The planned demonstration facility is to produce at least 500 kg of green methanol per day, matching the expected daily consumption of the ‘Uthörn’. To ensure the operation of the methanol synthesis facility and the acceptance of the manufactured methanol, a supply and distribution concept is developed within the project, which together with the preparation of a business plan will facilitate an economic perspective of the project’s approach. The generation and marketing of synthetic fuels at Bremerhaven is a first, essential step towards a more sustainable, local maritime energy supply and contributes to becoming less dependent on the import of fossil energy sources in future as well. The presentation will provide insights into the project and highlight first project results.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:11:30 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2579998</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Distributionally robust optimization of sailing speed, bunkering, and fuel switching for dual-fuel liner services</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2656126</link>
      <description><![CDATA[To reduce CO₂ and SO₂ emissions, shipping companies have started deploying LNG or methanol dual-fuel ships on liner services. Unlike traditional container ships, these dual-fuel ships can use multiple types of fuels during a voyage, allowing them to comply with emission regulations while reducing operational costs through fuel switching and speed optimization. Given the significant fluctuations in bunker prices across different ports, decisions regarding fuel switching, refueling, and sailing speeds must account for price uncertainty. We develop a distributionally robust chance-constrained programming model based on the Wasserstein uncertainty set to minimize operating costs under this uncertainty. We divide each port-to-port sailing leg into sub-legs, considering regional emission requirements or canal segments. This segmentation enables the optimization of fuel usage proportions, sailing speeds, and refueling strategies for each sub-leg. The model is then reformulated as a tractable mixed-integer second-order conic programming model. We validate the model using real-world data from COSCO Shipping. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the model can identify optimal solutions for real-scale instances within practical computational time. Furthermore, the robust solutions significantly outperform those obtained using the traditional sample average approximation method. Our results suggest that the joint optimization of fuel management and sailing speeds for dual-fuel ships can effectively reduce operating costs without increasing emissions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:15:29 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2656126</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Achieving Euro 7 WHSC NOx Emission Targets from a Spark Ignited Engine Using Methanol-Hydrogen Co-Fuelling</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2692276</link>
      <description><![CDATA[E-methanol is increasingly seen as a promising clean fuel because its chemical makeup is close to fossil fuels, making it easier to use in existing engines. It offers a carbon-neutral option to help reduce greenhouse gases in sectors where cutting emissions is especially difficult, such as transportation. However, while e-methanol avoids adding new carbon dioxide, burning it in internal combustion engines still releases harmful gases like oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and other toxic by-products like formaldehyde and formic acid that damage both health and the environment.This report explores a new strategy that combines methanol with hydrogen to run engines under “ultra-lean” conditions and its impact on emissions, performance and efficiency. Experiments were carried out on a single-cylinder spark ignition engine, with directly injected methanol and port fuelled injection of hydrogen. The findings show that adding about 10% hydrogen (energy basis) at low engine loads can extend the lean limit from air-fuel equivalence ratio (λ) of 1.7 to 2. This change cut NOx emissions by 99% and reduced formaldehyde emissions by 18% compared to pure methanol operation at stoichiometric. Furthermore, the NOx emissions were reduced sufficiently that engine could operate within Euro 7 World Harmonic Stationary Cycle (WHSC) limits.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:11:25 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2692276</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Techno-economic and environmental impact assessment of chemical absorption based shipboard carbon capture and storage</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2679980</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Shipboard carbon capture and storage (SCCS) is a viable retrofit for maritime decarbonisation, yet its environmental and techno-economic performance remains under-quantified. This study links life-cycle assessment with life-cycle costing to evaluate SCCS across four fuel configurations comprising very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), marine gas oil (MGO), liquefied natural gas (LNG), and methanol, analysed with/without capture. Fuel system boundaries follow International Maritime Organization guidance. The SCCS boundary covers post-combustion monoethanolamine (MEA) absorption, compression/liquefaction and onboard liquid CO₂ storage; one-off manufacture/transport/installation and periodic maintenance are included, whereas port offloading and downstream transport, storage or utilisation are excluded. To enhance generalisability, conservative settings are adopted, assuming post-combustion monoethanolamine at 1.5 kg/t CO₂, 58% capture efficiency, 3.7 GJ/t CO₂ energy use, and a 30-year service life with 5-year maintenance. Under these settings, installing SCCS lowers well-to-propeller greenhouse-gas emissions by 48.8–49.5% across all fuels after including 8.5–9.2% SCCS self-emissions. These net reductions support technical feasibility through policy alignment, with attained Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index decreasing and Carbon Intensity Indicator improving by up to two grades for representative container, bulk-carrier, and tanker vessels. MGO with SCCS attains decarbonisation comparable to methanol, hence the economic comparison focuses on these two pathways. Over 30 years, MGO with SCCS is 7.1% less costly, with fuel prices the primary driver. Probabilistic analysis indicates SCCS on MGO is the lower-cost option in 69.8% of cases. Overall, within the stated boundary, the findings demonstrate the significance and effectiveness of SCCS for ship decarbonisation.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 11:44:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2679980</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The green energy transition in air transport – an analysis of supply chains for hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2665826</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The aviation industry’s transition to new energy carriers has only recently begun. Under the European Union’s ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation, the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) is now mandated, with growing shares of SAF from biological and non-biological origins over time. In parallel, the industry is developing aircraft powered by hydrogen — either through combustion in turboprop or turbofan engines, or via fuel cells generating electricity for electric motors. These developments mark a shift away from today’s petroleum-based jet fuels. Several studies have estimated future demand for hydrogen and SAF in aviation, but few have examined the supply chains dedicated to transporting these new energy carriers. As with crude oil and jet fuel today, a substantial share of Europe’s future aviation energy demand is likely to be met by imports from regions with abundant, low-cost renewable energy. Based on existing techno-economic studies, this paper explores supply chain options for liquid hydrogen as well as alternative hydrogen carriers such as ammonia and liquid organic hydrogen carriers. It also examines supply options for synthetic SAF (renewable fuels of non-biological origin, RFNBO), which may involve also intermediate carriers like hydrogen, methanol, or syncrude. The central question is how to design an aviation energy supply chain for the EU that is both energy- and cost-efficient while minimizing dependence on external suppliers. The paper provides an overview of potential supply chains, offering a techno-economic assessment of various energy carriers and discussing the pros and cons of each. This analysis highlights the likely infrastructure needs at seaports, refineries, and in hinterland distribution to airports.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 15:15:33 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2665826</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Applying public information to make green shipping investment decisions</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2598295</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Confronted with a surfeit of green shipping information and a variety of alternative fuels and technologies, the investment decisions facing shipping companies have become increasingly complex. Applying the novel granular fuzzy pay-off method (FPOM), this paper aims to provide a conceptually meaningful, understandable and easily applicable methodology for investment in green shipping. Based on public information, this paper conducts a case study relating to four popular kinds of ship fuels (namely diesel, LNG, methanol and hydrogen) to show how to use this method in financing a green ship. The results show that this methodology performs well under such a scenario. It indicates that, for the case study presented, LNG is an excellent transitional green fuel for use in the near future, regarding both financial benefit and emissions reduction. In addition, compared to the price of carbon, in the short-term fuel costs are more influential in a shipping company's green shipping investment decision process.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:11:21 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2598295</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Spatial evolution of liner bunkering hubs in Asia–Europe: Green fuel adoption under demand and fuel price uncertainty</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2643982</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The global challenge of decarbonizing liner shipping has prompted the increased adoption of green methanol, a low-carbon fuel that is compatible with existing infrastructure. This paper examines how the widespread use of green methanol shapes the spatial distribution of bunkering hubs along Asia–Europe liner shipping routes. We propose an analytical framework that incorporates a multinomial Logit model and a stochastic programming (SP) model. The former estimates the container transportation demand of different routes, whereas the latter optimizes the operational strategies (i.e., fleet size, liner sailing speed, bunkering management strategies, and slot allocation) of liner companies while considering the carbon tax and uncertainties associated with transportation demand and fuel price. To solve the SP model, a sample average approximation technique is applied to address the random variables, and a piecewise linear approximation method is used to handle the nonlinear constraints in the model. Using real-world operational data from 37 Asia–Europe routes, we create three scenarios to explore the evolution of bunkering hubs in Eurasia. The results reveal that the lower energy density of green methanol shifts liner bunkering from centralized hubs such as the Port of Singapore to a multi-layered network, elevating ports such as the Port of Qingdao and the Port of Rotterdam. A 15% decrease in the price of green fuel in China has resulted in a 72% reduction in the market share of the port of Singapore, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of East Asian hubs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2026 09:27:51 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2643982</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The path to carbon neutral shipping: A comparative analysis of low carbon technologies</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2611443</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Ship operations are crucial to global trade, and their decarbonization is essential to mitigate climate change. This study evaluates the economic viability of existing and emerging decarbonization technologies in maritime shipping using the levelized cost of energy methodology. It includes a detailed comparative analysis based on essential criteria and sensitivity assessments to highlight the economic impacts of technological advancements. Key factors influencing total costs include fuel costs, carbon pricing, and energy demands for carbon capture. The findings reveal that methanol is more cost-effective than heavy fuel oil (HFO) when priced below 3000 CNY/t, assuming HFO costs 4400 CNY/t. Additionally, methanol with post-combustion carbon capture is less expensive than pre-combustion carbon capture. When carbon prices rise above 480 CNY/t, carbon capture technologies prove more economical than purchasing carbon emission allowances for HFO and liquefied natural gas. Enhancing the use of exhaust gas waste heat is recommended for cost savings. Post-combustion carbon capture also shows greater efficiency, requiring about 1.1 GJ/t less energy than pre-combustion methods, leading to lower overall costs. Future research should focus on market mechanisms to stabilize fuel prices and develop less energy-intensive carbon capture technologies. This study offers critical insights into effective decarbonization strategies for advancing global maritime trade in the present and future.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 27 Oct 2025 09:34:57 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2611443</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Alternative Marine Fuels, Safety, and Environmental Hazards</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2598539</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has established a target of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by or around 2050. It also created a checkpoint to reduce GHG emissions by at least 40% compared to 2008 emission levels before 2030. To reach this goal, IMO recommended that by 2030, alternative fuels that are less carbon intensive or reduce air pollutants should make up 5 to 10% of the total energy used by international shipping. The United States Coast Guard is prepared for a significant increase in the use and transport of alternative fuels on U.S. waterways. These alternative fuels include, but are not limited to, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, biofuels, hydrogen, ammonia, low-sulfur fuel oils, methanol, and other alcohols. The service's Research and Development Center will conduct thorough research into each fuel’s physical and chemical properties, as well as its health and environmental health hazards, protective measures, and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting the fuel. In addition, the RDC will engage fuel suppliers, shippers, and classification societies to fully capture the risks posed to responders’ safety and health and review vessel and facility response plans for current approaches to transporting, handling, and responding to potential alternative fuel spills. By taking a proactive approach with this research effort, the Coast Guard will improve its readiness for this new and emerging challenge of alternative fuel spills.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 26 Sep 2025 13:39:59 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2598539</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Thermal Efficiency Improvement and Emission Reduction of Methanol Spark Ignition Engine Using Lean-Burn Strategy</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2571636</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Methanol is a promising fuel for achieving carbon neutrality in the transportation sector, particularly for internal combustion engine vehicles. With its high-Octane number, methanol enables higher thermal efficiency compared to gasoline engines. Additionally, its wide flammability range allows stable engine operation under lean burn conditions at low to mid-load levels. These characteristics make methanol well-suited for lean-burn strategies, which reduce pumping losses and enhance thermal efficiency. However, there remains a lack of studies on the influence of injection timing under different lean conditions, particularly in a wall-guided spark ignition engine. Wall-guided systems use the chamber wall or piston surface to redirect and stratify the fuel-air mixture near the spark plug at the time of ignition. The combustion performance of lean-burn engines in highly sensitive to variations in injection and excess air ratio. In this study, experiments were conducted on a single-cylinder engine to examine the combustion and emission characteristics under varying excess air ratios and the injection timings. At an SOI of -180 CAD aTDC, a thermal efficiency of 47.5% was achieved when the excess air ratio was increased. This corresponds to a 5.62% improvement in efficiency compared to the condition with excess air ratio (λ) 1.2 condition, representing the largest increase among all tested conditions. Due to high thermal efficiency, high vaporization heat of methanol, and low combustion temperature of lean conditions, nitrogen oxides emission decreased from 10.24 g/kWh to 2.23 g/kWh. However, corrected hydrocarbon emission increased from 3.07 g/kWh to 6.98 g/kWh under SOI -120 CAD aTDC condition, leading to the decline in combustion efficiency.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 08 Jul 2025 10:45:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2571636</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>A critical analysis of the utilization of fossil fuels by the maritime sector concerning the decarbonization process</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2528605</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The shipping industry, heavily reliant on fossil fuels, is at a critical juncture. Hydrocarbon-based oils currently power the majority of vessels, but their combustion releases significant amounts of carbon dioxide, exacerbating global warming and climate change. This paper undertakes a comprehensive examination and evaluation of the use of fossil fuels in this context, with a particular focus on the urgent and pressing need for decarbonization. It considers the use of low-sulfur heavy fuel oil (LSHFO), heavy fuel oil (HFO), marine diesel oil (MDO), and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as bridge fuels. It explores methanol and bioethanol as potential alternatives. The objective is to identify immediate and effective solutions to shipping decarbonization.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 20 May 2025 11:37:53 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2528605</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Use of Methanol in a High-Power Density Generator</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2539009</link>
      <description><![CDATA[
                
                Increasing global pressure to reduce anthropogenic carbon emissions has inspired
                    a transition from conventional petroleum-fueled internal combustion engines to
                    alternative powertrains, including battery electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids.
                    Hybrids offer a promising solution for emissions reduction by addressing the
                    limitations of pure EVs such as slow recharge and range anxiety. In a previous
                    research endeavor, a prototype high-power density generator was meticulously
                    designed, fabricated, and subjected to testing. This generator incorporated a
                    compact permanent magnet brushless dynamo and a diminutive single-cylinder
                    two-stroke engine with low-technology constructions. This prototype generated
                    8.5 kW of electrical power while maintaining a lightweight profile at 21 kg.
                    This study investigates the performance and emissions reduction potential by
                    adapting the prototype to operate on methanol fuel. Performance and emissions
                    were experimentally evaluated under varying operating conditions. In addition, a
                    comparative analysis between methanol fuel and conventional gasoline was
                    performed. It was found that the generator operable on methanol achieved an
                    overall increase in performance with a peak power output of 10 kW when compared
                    to gasoline. In addition, the generator demonstrated significant reductions in
                    carbon emissions. The goal of this research is to adapt and demonstrate the
                    high-power density, low-emission electric power generator from previous work,
                    which was suitable for applications such as, for example, range extenders and
                    UAV propulsion, to use renewable fuel. This research showcases a potential
                    direction for an electrical generator that offers reduced emissions in
                    applications where specific power is critical.
            ]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 14:03:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2539009</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Enhancing Dual Fuel Combustion Simulation: A Novel Geometric Approach for Accurate Flame Entrainment Estimation</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2539317</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Maritime transportation plays a vital role in the economy and is one of the most energy-efficient modes of transportation. However, it is a growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. A potential solution to lower carbon emissions from maritime transport is to use renewable fuels in marine engines. Hydrogen or methanol can serve as the primary energy source in internal combustion (IC) engines. However, their high autoignition temperatures require an external ignition source to start combustion in compression ignition (CI) engines. The Dual Fuel (DF) approach offers an effective method for incorporating these fuels. To accurately simulate dual fuel combustion, certain parameters need to be carefully addressed. One crucial parameter to investigate is estimating the flame entrainment area, as it directly affects the mass burning rate. In this work, a novel geometric approach is developed to estimate the evolution of the flame entrainment area. This model is integrated into a multi-zone dual fuel combustion model in GT-Power and evaluated against experimental data from a single-cylinder engine (SCE) running on methanol in dual fuel mode, specifically 25 different cases with a bore size of 240 mm (SCE1) and 25 cases with a bore size of 256 mm (SCE2). The results show that using the new flame area model reduces the root mean square error (RMSE) in predicting combustion phasing (CA90) from about 10 crank angle degrees (CAD) to approximately 3.5 CAD for SCE1 and from 18 CAD to 8 CAD for SCE2. Additionally, there is a reduction in RMSE for predicting the indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), from 2.3 bar to 1.3 bar for SCE1 and from 1.5 bar to 1.0 bar for SCE2. Significant improvements are also observed in the heat release rate curve, specifically in the tail of combustion.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 15 Apr 2025 13:56:48 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2539317</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>India's growing Ethanol Blending Program and implications of scalable and sustainable Methanol Blending Program for transport sector</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2519847</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The government of India is exploring the possibility of introducing indigenous fuels into the transport sector to reduce petroleum imports. Considering this, an Ethanol Blending Program was launched. The government of India also outlined a vision for a methanol economy, and vehicle trials were performed to understand the challenges of introducing the Methanol Blending Program in India. A review of the Ethanol Blending Program vs. Methanol Blending Program is done in this study by systematically analysing various aspects such as production, the requirement of critical resources such as water, fuel storage issues, and the ‘food vs. fuel’ debate. India's struggle towards providing Indigenous feedstocks for ethanol production can be easily tackled by producing methanol from various abundant feedstocks such as high-ash coal, biomass, and municipal solid waste. However, coal-based methanol (brown methanol) may lead to a larger carbon footprint involving coal extraction and methanol conversion. Green methanol can be a game-changer for India's economy and greenhouse gas emissions. Ethanol has an edge over methanol since methanol has a wider flammability range and higher toxicity. Significant use of food and water stresses for the national ethanol blending program could be the main bottleneck for extending it further for a longer time in India.On the contrary, the methanol blending program would not affect India's food production architecture. Methanol could face challenges in public acceptance as it is perceived as dangerous to the human body. Flex-fuel vehicles must be deployed to implement the highly methanol-concentrated methanol-gasoline blends in parallel with gasoline-fueled vehicles. The government of India launched the Ethanol Blending Program with an ambitious aim of sharply reducing import bills for petroleum. However, it failed to influence India's economy for various reasons, including challenges in upscaling ethanol production from an economic vantage point. These challenges can be overcome by switching to methanol in place of ethanol. Overall, ethanol and methanol can replace gasoline in the transport sector. However, the Ethanol Blending Program has not benefited India in the past few years; and promoting the Methanol Blending Program in India makes sense from economic, strategic, sustainability, and self-sufficiency viewpoints, and this could be potentially a game-changer for the Indian economy. However, the carbon footprint from brown methanol may be high. Thus, green methanol needs to be made available for transport sector. Projects must be implemented in various parts of the country, and technical challenges must be resolved for implementing green methanol economy. Vehicle manufacturers need to develop methanol-compatible engines so that implementing a methanol blending program becomes a reality. Attractive policies need to be put in place to engage OEMs. India should consider phase-wise shift to methanol-fueled vehicles starting with vehicles using lower methanol-gasoline/methanol-diesel blends to eventually 100% methanol-powered vehicles in a phased manner.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 19 Mar 2025 16:58:50 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2519847</guid>
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