The Methanol Alternative Robert Zubrin

REVIEWS & RECONSIDERATIONS The Methanol Alternative Robert Zubrin ny serious energy policy to all three dimensions of the energy must deal with three criti- problem. Acal issues. First, economic: There is no shortage of energy The policy must provide an ener- experts with grand designs and pro- gy resource base sufficient to allow posals—from technophile dreams of for continued worldwide economic an unworkable “hydrogen economy,” growth for the foreseeable future. to Malthusian calls for enforced eco- Second, environmental: The policy nomic limits through conservation, must be compatible with the long- to socialist schemes for creating term flourishing of life on Earth, massive government-subsidized syn- including human life and civilization. thetic-fuel industries, to the libertar- And finally, stra- ian faith in the tegic: The policy Beyond Oil and Gas: The Methanol Economy Invisible Hand. must ensure that By George A. Olah, Alain Goeppert, and Compared to G. K. Surya Prakash control of the Wiley-VCH ~ 2006 ~ 290 pp. such misguided Earth’s energy $29.95 (hardcover) alternatives, the resources, and competence and thus its future, lies in the hands of free rationality of The Methanol Economy societies committed to human prog- is refreshing. ress, and taken away from tyrannical The authors begin by describing the and terrorism-promoting states. dimensions of the worldwide energy George Olah, recipient of the 1994 problem: Even as our reserves of fos- Nobel Prize in Chemistry, is one of sil fuels have grown in recent decades, the giants of twentieth-century sci- the demand is growing faster, and as ence, and his coauthors are solid tech- more of the world modernizes, a nical men. Together they have writ- global energy “crunch” looms. From ten a profoundly important book on here, they turn their attention to energy policy, laying out the basis renewable energy sources and nuclear for a technically achievable approach power, and then they offer a thorough SUMMER 2006 ~ 85 Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. See www.TheNewAtlantis.com for more information. ROBERT ZUBRIN refutation of the technical feasibil- Integrating methanol into our ity of the “hydrogen economy.” This energy system would have numerous widely-touted panacea cannot work benefits in the not-so-distant future. because it takes more energy to pro- As the authors point out, it would duce hydrogen than it yields, because make the transportation of liquid hydrogen is an excessively low- natural gas much safer by converting density medium for storing chemical it to less- hazardous liquid methanol energy, and because an entirely new before shipping it. Methanol could multi-billion- dollar fuel distribution also be used to produce plastics, syn- infrastructure would have to be cre- thetic fabrics, and many other non- ated to support hydrogen vehicles fuel products currently made from before any could be sold. petroleum. Importantly, methanol can also he heart of the book outlines be produced (in conjunction with Ta proposed technical solu- an auxiliary electricity source, like tion to the energy problem. The nuclear power) by chemically recy- authors don’t propose new ways of cling carbon dioxide, which can be generating energy, arguing that “all found naturally in the air or readily feasible alternative and renewable captured from atmosphere-polluting energy sources must be considered industrial emissions. The methanol and used,” nuclear energy “above produced can, in turn, be used to all.” Instead, they focus on “the chal- produce synthetic hydrocarbons and lenges of how to store and best use other products now obtained from energy.” fossil fuels. If successfully tapped, The authors dub their proposal methanol “has the ability to liber- the “methanol economy.” Methanol is ate mankind from its dependence on commonly known as “wood alcohol” fossil fuels for transportation and because it can be produced from wood; hydrocarbon products,” while reduc- it can also be made from coal, natural ing the amount of carbon dioxide gas, methane hydrates, any type of pumped into the atmosphere. biomass, or urban waste. It can be Consider ethanol as a comparison. used as fuel for internal- combustion The commercial competitiveness of engines, and eventually in fuel-cell ethanol is somewhat confused by vehicles. It can also be used as feed- the complex influences of a variety stock for producing dimethyl ether, of subsidies and tariffs. By contrast, an excellent fuel for non-polluting methanol is currently selling— diesel engines. In short, it is a conve- without any subsidy—for about $0.80/ nient medium for storing energy and gallon. Given that methanol’s energy is easily transported and dispensed content is about half that of gasoline, as a fuel. that price is the equivalent, in energy 86 ~ THE NEW ATLANTIS Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. See www.TheNewAtlantis.com for more information. THE METHANOL ALTERNATIVE terms, of gasoline for $1.60/gallon. counter man-made global warming In other words, we can produce a as well. “Compared to gasoline or useful and economically viable vehi- diesel fuel,” the authors conclude, cle fuel, using a huge domestic and “methanol is clearly environmentally Western hemispheric resource base, much safer and less toxic.” at prices lower than gasoline. he book’s greatest shortcoming So if the economic and strate- is in its policy recommenda- gic questions can be answered, that T tions. It has none. While describing leaves the matter of methanol and the technological basis for a future the environment. The authors deal world of progress, freedom, econom- with environmental concerns in a cool, thorough, and methodical fash- ic development, and an acceptable ion. Unlike ethanol, which is edible, environment, the authors offer no methanol is toxic—but so is gasoline. plan for how to make it happen. However, unlike gasoline or petro- Given the highly technical and scien- leum, methanol is soluble in water tific orientation of the authors, this and readily biodegradable by com- is perhaps understandable, but it is mon bacteria, so spills of metha- unfortunate. nol, whether from defective pump- Indeed, by focusing on the best ing stations or shipwrecked tankers, technical solution without regard would have no long-term environ- to policy implications, the authors mental impact. Furthermore, as the sail past essential matters without authors demonstrate, the toxicity of stopping to seize them. This is most methanol is commonly overstated. evident on the subject of Flexible In point of fact, methanol is present Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), automobiles naturally in fresh fruit, and so low that can operate with gasoline and/or doses of methanol have always been various mixtures of gasoline and alco- a normal part of the human diet. hol. The most common FFVs in the Unlike gasoline, methanol is not a United States are E85 or M85, mean- carcinogen or a mutagen, and the ing that they can function with up to pollutants and other emissions from 85 percent ethanol or methanol and methanol- powered internal combus- 15 percent gasoline. On the subject of tion engines are far more benign FFVs, Olah and his colleagues say: than emissions from their gasoline- Although the flexibility of the driven counterparts. (Automobile FFVs represent a powerful means emissions could even be reduced to to circumvent the fuel supply zero with methanol-based fuel cells.) conundrum, and also a way to And if methanol is produced from build up the demand for metha- carbon dioxide or from biomass, its nol, it must be borne in mind use in place of petroleum acts to that this is only a compromise.... SUMMER 2006 ~ 87 Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. See www.TheNewAtlantis.com for more information. ROBERT ZUBRIN In the long term, the use of cars percent of total automobile sales in optimized to run only on methanol the United States—with essentially (M100) would be preferable, and no price differential between them would also greatly facilitate the and comparable models that only transition to methanol- powered use gasoline. As a result, there is no fuel cell vehicles. downside to making flex-fuel capabil- Yet without the short term, there ity the standard. If it were required is no long term. The authors are that all new cars sold in the United correct that, in the abstract, “cars States had to be FFVs, there would optimized to run only on methanol” be 50 million automobiles capable would be preferable. But such cars of burning methanol on the road in would find no buyers today—because the U.S. within three years. Under there are no pumps to fuel them, nor such conditions, with methanol pro- will there be, until millions of such ducible for a fraction of the cost of cars are on the road. Thus the FFVs, gasoline, the methanol pumps would which can run on a combination of appear soon enough, and the metha- gasoline, methanol, and/or ethanol, nol economy envisioned by Olah and are not “only a compromise.” Rather, his collaborators would soon follow. they are the key transitional tech- But one should not complain too nology that can make the methanol much about the book’s omissions, economy a reality. since it maps out a viable technical Manufacturing a car as an FFV approach for addressing our energy requires only the use of a corrosion- problems. They have shown us where resistant fuel line and a change in the to go; now it is time for policymakers programming of the chip control- to help get us there. ling the car’s electronic fuel injector. Thus FFVs can be produced—and Robert Zubrin, an aerospace engineer, currently are being produced in two is president of Pioneer Astronautics, a dozen models, amounting to about 3 research and development firm. 88 ~ THE NEW ATLANTIS Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. See www.TheNewAtlantis.com for more information..

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