Lotus Engineering's presentation for developing Methanol as a transportation fuel

[Bill USA]

2. it is well known that methanol is more corrosive than ethanol. This is not an insurmountable problem

.. building engines that can hold up to methanol/ethanol/gasoline blends is still far cheaper an option than others being tried now - e.g. conventional hybrids, PHEVs.


http://www.afdc.energy.gov/pdfs/mit_methanol_white_paper.pdf

[div style="border: 1px solid #000000;" class="excerpt"]
Methanol as an alternative transportation fuel in the US:
Options for sustainable and/or energy-secure transportation

L. Bromberg and W.K. Cheng

Prepared by the
Sloan Automotive Laboratory

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge MA 02139



"Methanol is more corrosive than ethanol; material compatibility issues of methanol fuels require modifications of engine fuel systems. Both elastometers (soft components used for seals and fuel lines) as well as metals, if not chosen properly, can be attacked by methanol. However, work done in California and elsewhere has demonstrated that methanol compatible vehicles can be effectively designed. There are no technical hurdles."