Results from the second year of operation of the Federal Methanol Fleet at Argonne National Laboratory

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Results from the second year of operation of the Federal Methanol Fleet at Argonne National Laboratory

R. N. McGill / S. L. Hillis / B. H. West / J. W. Hodgson

Argonne National Laboratory has completed two full years of operation of 19 vehicles in the Federal Methanol Fleet Project; ten of the vehicles are fueled with methanol. Over one-half million miles have been accumulated on the fleet vehicles so far, and comparisons of efficiency continue to show nearly equal performance between the methanol and gasoline vehicles. Emissions tests of some of the vehicles during the second year revealed degradations of emissions control systems for both the methanol and gasoline vehicle types, although emissions were still within limits. Methanol vehicles continued to require more maintenance, and the maintenance labor intensity (hours per 1000 miles) increased for all the vehicle types being monitored. Accumulation of metals in the lubricating oil of the methanol vehicles continued to be elevated compared to that of the gasoline vehicles although not at alarming levels. Drivers indicated less satisfaction with vehicles in the test during the second year, both for methanol as well as gasoline vehicles. 5 refs., 7 figs., 22 tabs.