Home Green Cars 3 : Alternative Fuels 3.2 Biofuels 3.2.5 Methanol Methanol Vehicle Fuel 3.2.5  Methanol Methanol is methyl alcohol. It is frequently referred to as wood alcohol. It is currently (2007) more cost effective to derive methanol from the natural gas methane. It can also be produced from light petroleum products and coal. When produced from a biomass it is called biomethanol. Methanol is much less flammable than petrol and this has limited its use as fuel for internal combustion engines. Methanol contains about 45% less energy than petrol (63,000 BTUs per US gallon compared to 115,000 BTUs for petrol). Methanol has been used as a fuel for fuel cells. See Green Cars, Section 8.7.   Methanol is corrosive to certain metals, including aluminium.  Pure methanol has been used in certain racing cars since the 1960s, including the American Indianapolis 500 event up to the end of the 2005 season. It has also been used in drag racers.   [ Back ]