Methanol (MeOH), is a clear, colourless, water soluble liquid which boils at 65°C. It is also known as methyl alcohol and is often abbreviated MeOH. It is most commonly produced from natural gas but can also be made from bio-feed stocks and gasification of coal. It is commonly used as a solvent, antifreeze, fuel, or ethanol modifier, and can also be used to produce biodiesel through ester exchange reactions.
Due to the shortage of petroleum resources, rich coal resources and the enhancement of people's awareness of environmental protection. Methanol, as clean fuel converted from coal, has been paid more and more attention and can be produced cheaply and in large quantities. At present, it is gradually applied in the field of ship, automobile and power generation.
If the green methanol that is synthesized from hydrogen and carbon dioxide, then we can actually achieve CO2-neutral combustion. Furthermore, methanol has some advantages concerning its emissions behavior: There are fewer NOx emissions and no SOx or soot emissions for pure methanol combustion. So there’s great potential for methanol to play a key role in the maritime energy transition.
Other advantages lie in the properties of methanol: It is liquid in ambient conditions. The handling onboard a vessel is therefore much easier compared to gaseous fuels. Furthermore, methanol is less hazardous for aquatic organisms compared to well-known marine fuels like marine gas oil or heavy fuel oil. This permits the use of the outer ship hull as bunker tanks. Hence, the fuel storage capacity onboard increases.
Methanol is flammable and can form explosive mixtures with air. It burns with a non-luminous flame and is highly toxic. It is an ideal fuel for ship and power generation.
Contaminants such as metal shavings, welding debris, insulation, sand, wood, cloth and oil must be removed from the methanol. It is important to note that the quality and impurity degree can vary among the suppliers due to production and handling differences and the type of bunkering/transfer process.
For details on the requirements for methanol quality, please click here: Methanol Fuel Specification .