Preparation and performance improvement of methanol and palm oil/palm kernel oil blended fuel

Using fossil fuels in engines has caused energy shortages, carbon emissions and environmental pollution. Methanol is considered as an alternative carbon-neutral fuel and energy carrier in the future, but it is hard to be used in diesel engines due to its awful auto-ignition property and low heating value. Blending methanol with vegetable oil can solve the above challenges. Palm oil (PO) ranks first in the total global vegetable oil production. Therefore, in the current study, a new method of preparing PO or palm kernel oil (PKO) with methanol was first proposed. Meantime, the microscope observation, conductivity measurement and other analysis on physicochemical properties have been conducted. Results show that both methanol and PO/PKO can form stable microemulsion as tetrahydrofuran (THF), polyoxymethylene dimethyl ether (PODE) and butanol were selected as co-solvents, furthermore THF has the strongest solubilizing ability among the three co-solvents. PKO has a stronger affinity for methanol than PO. The electrical conductivity verified the structure and stability of the microemulsion. Copper, polypropylene, polyethylene and fluororubber are resistant to corrosion and swelling of blended fuels. This work provides valuable methods on preparing carbon-neutral fuel in diesel engines.

Automated summary

Using fossil fuels in engines has led to energy shortages, carbon emissions, and environmental pollution. Methanol is considered a potential alternative fuel, but its use in diesel engines is hindered by poor auto-ignition properties and low heating value. Blending methanol with vegetable oil, particularly palm oil, has been proposed as a solution. Experimental results indicate stable microemulsions can be formed using methanol and palm kernel oil, with tetrahydrofuran as the most effective co-solvent. Palm kernel oil has a higher affinity for methanol compared to palm oil. Conductivity tests confirm the stability of the microemulsion. This study provides valuable insights for preparing carbon-neutral fuels in diesel engines.