NEAR-CYLINDER DISSOCIATION OF METHANOL FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATION

The report describes the design analyses and experimental evaluation toward developing a system of dissociating methanol for use in a spark-ignited passenger car engine. Maximum dissociation of methanol fuel attainable using exhaust gas heat was the basic goal of the project. The heating value of dissociated methanol is about 20 percent higher than that for liquid methanol. Therefore, significant energy savings appear to be attainable if a large percent of the engine fuel needs can be dissociated by use of the otherwise wasted heat of the exhaust gas. A heat exchanger consisting of a methanol evaporator, an injection system to provide fuel to the evaporator, and a dissociation reactor was designed, fabricated, and tested. The dissociation efficiency of the initial reactor was not as good as expected. The relative poor performance of the dissociation reactor apparently was associated with fuel injector nozzle heating, blockage of passageways in the dissociation reactor, and an ineffective dissociation catalyst. The heat exchanger was redesigned to incorporate improvements, and four heat exchangers were fabricated using the final design.

• Corporate Authors:

  Southwest Research Institute

  6220 Culebra Road, P.O. Drawer 28510
  San Antonio, TX  United States  78228-0510
• Publication Date: 1988-7

Media Info

• Pagination: 184 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Catalytic converters; Dissociation; Fuel injection; Heat exchangers; Methanol; Spark ignition engines
• Subject Areas: Highways; Vehicles and Equipment; I96: Vehicle Operating Costs;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00480553
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: EPA/460/3-88/002
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 31 1989 12:00AM