USC Dornsife chemists George Olah, a Nobel laureate, and G.K. Surya Prakash PhD ’78, director of Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, received the $1 million Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Fuels for Transportation prize for their groundbreaking research. It recognizes their work on the methanol economy, a concept to use methanol to replace fossil fuels and petroleum-based energy sources.

So what is methanol and how might it fuel our future?

Methanol 101

It's a type of alcohol

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol, is the simplest of all alcohols. Stored like gasoline, it’s a colorless liquid with  a faint, pleasant odor.

It has many sources

Methanol was originally made by distilling wood. Today, it can be created from natural gas, coal and renewable sources  like plants or even carbon dioxide.

It can multitask

An excellent fuel for running cars, trucks, fuel cells and even electric power turbines, methanol is also used to make hundreds  of products that touch  our lives—from plastics  to pharmaceuticals.

It's higher-octane

Methanol has higher octane ratings than gasoline, which means higher engine efficiency and faster acceleration. (There’s a reason methanol blends are the fuel of choice at the Indianapolis 500). It also costs less per gallon than gasoline.

It's carbon-neutral

Methanol can be generated by recycling atmospheric carbon dioxide. This means it could be a carbon-neutral fuel source. An Icelandic company already has set up a commercial-scale facility to do this. Its name: the George Olah Renewable Methanol Plant.

It has environmental benefits

Methanol is cleaner burning than gasoline and generates fewer emissions.  In the case of accidental  large-scale spills, methanol,  unlike gasoline, is soluble in  water and is biodegradable.

It's a growing economic sector

Globally, the methanol industry accounts for creating more than 100,000 jobs and generates $36 billion in economic activity each year.

It has a hazy future in the U.S.

Methanol is  already used as an efficient  fuel in places like China and Iran. But in the U.S., an Open Fuel Standard would need to  be passed. The Environmental Protection Agency currently bans its use as a fuel. Prakash describes the issue as “a legislative one.”

Science/Technology Climate Change Wicked Problems

Trojan Family Magazine

Fuel for Thought: Methanol

USC chemists receive a first-ever $1 million prize for their innovative research on alternative fuels.

Fuel for Thought: Methanol

USC chemists receive a first-ever $1 million prize for their innovative research on alternative fuels.

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