European Automotive Fuels For The 80's And 90's 845047

Assuming that the rise in the cost of crude oil during the remainder of this century is roughly in line with inflation, essentially all of Europe's transportation fuel will be petroleum derived. However, shifts in environmental regulations and in the relative demand for the various petroleum fuels may cause significant changes in transportation fuel quality. If lead-free gasoline is required, its octane quality should be set to minimize the total energy required for transportation. The relative increase in the demand for transportation distillate will lead to a higher fraction of conversion distillates in these products, and a general lowering of cetane quality. Optimization of the diesel engine-fuel system around the available cetane quality would be desirable. While synthetic fuels are unlikely to be available in significant quantities in Europe in the next 20 years, they will continue to be studied intently by all involved in transportation. Methanol appears to be the most attractive synthetic fuel for Europe. Use of methanol to extend gasoline or diesel fuel is possible, but use of neat methanol in modified Otto cycle engines seems more attractive. Raising the vapor pressure of methanol with suitable primers can overcome some of the difficulties encountered with pure methanol.