Methanol is another GTL product, which has been produced for many decades for manufacturing of high-value chemicals and fuel
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fuproc.2014.12.014
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additives. Methanol is the most basic alcohol and is a desirable choice as a transportation fuel due to its efficient combustion and ease of distri- bution. Methanol can be used directly as fuel or blended with petrol, converted to DME as a diesel replacement, or used in the biodiesel pro- duction process [10–12]. Methanol is a high-octane fuel that enables very efficient and powerful engine performance. However, methanol is toxic, has an affinity to water and has half the energy content of petrol on a volumetric basis [13]. Since methanol fuel is corrosive to certain materials commonly used in engines and fuel lines, it is blended with other fuel. Small modifications must be made to engines to include methanol-compatible components and to permit running on high- level blends such as M-85 (a mixture of 85% methanol and 15% petrol). However, low-level blends of methanol do not cause adverse effects on car engines and can be used in cars today where available without any problems. Methanol is indeed also considered an alternative to marine gas oil or liquefied natural gas for ship propulsion and is claimed to have advantages in this application [14]. However, the substitution of marine gas oil with methanol is not within the scope of this paper.