Methanol Research Paper

Words: 252
Pages: 2

Ethanol is not the only fuel that can be produced from biomass. About 1.2 billion gallons of methanol, currently made from natural gas, are sold in the United States annually, with about 38% of this used in the transportation sector. (The rest is used to make solvents and chemicals.) Methanol can also be produced from biomass through thermochemical gasification. Diesel fuel, currently produced from petroleum, is also being produced in limited quantities from soybeans, but research has shown that diesel fuel can also be produced from less costly and more abundant sources, such as the natural oils occurring in algae and pyrolysis of biomass. Dimethyl ether is another fuel that can be produced from biomass as a diesel substitute. Federal support