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Perspective: Diesel Drives Toward Clean Energy Future

May 29, 2019

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There was a time not long ago when methanol was being hailed as the replacement for diesel fuel. The year was 1987, and environmental concerns were coming into vogue. In California, state regulators’ efforts to reduce vehicle emissions were — as they are today — making headlines.

Seeking to take definitive action to address the smog that hung over the state, California air regulators decreed that methanol would replace diesel fuel, making the case that it was a cleaner-burning liquid fuel that produced no particulates. However, problems arose. Among these: Methanol burned without a flame, posing risks in handling, storage and accident settings, and when it spilled or leaked, it created severe groundwater contamination.

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