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Federal Methanol Fleet Project final report [electronic resource].

Published
Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 1993.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description
Pages: (40 pages) : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
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Summary
The Federal Methanol Fleet Project concluded with the termination of data collection from the three fleet sites in February 1991. The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) completed five years of operation, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) completed its fourth year in the project, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) completed its third. Twenty of the thirty-nine vehicles in the fleet were powered by fuel methanol (typically M85, 85 % methanol, 15 % unleaded gasoline, although the LBL fleet used M88), and the remaining control vehicles were comparable gasoline vehicles. Over 2.2 million km (1.4 million miles) were accumulated on the fleet vehicles in routine government service. Data collected over the years have included vehicle mileage and fuel economy, engine oil analysis, emissions, vehicle maintenance, and driver acceptance. Fuel economies (on an energy basis) of the methanol and gasoline vehicles of the same type were comparable throughout the fleet testing. Engine oil analysis has revealed higher accumulation rates of iron and other metals in the oil of the methanol vehicles, although no significant engine damage has been attributed to the higher metal content. Vehicles of both fuel types have experienced degradation in their emission control systems, however, the methanol vehicles seem to have degraded their catalytic converters at a higher rate. The methanol vehicles have required more maintenance than their gasoline counterparts, in most cases, although the higher levels of maintenance cannot be attributed to fuel-related'' repairs. According to the daily driver logs and results from several surveys, drivers of the fleet vehicles at all three sites were generally satisfied with the methanol vehicles.
Report Numbers
E 1.99:ornl-tm-12278
ornl-tm-12278
Subject(s)
Other Subject(s)
Note
Published through SciTech Connect.
03/01/1993.
"ornl-tm-12278"
"DE93011392"
Hodgson, J.W.; West, B.H.; Hillis, S.L.; McGill, R.N.
Funding Information
AC05-84OR21400
View MARC record | catkey: 13601011