Methanol and Hydrogen as alternative fuels: A Review

Burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas damages the environment because it releases a harmful gas, carbon dioxide, which adds to the other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, traps more of the sun s heat, and causes global warming which is driving climate change. This problem can be solved by using alternative fuels. Alternative fuels research has been ongoing for well over many years. Biofuels for transportation sector, including alcohols (ethanol, methanol...etc.), biodiesel, and other liquid and gaseous fuels such as methane and hydrogen, have the potential to displace a considerable amount of petroleum-based fuels around the world. There are four major issues related to alternative fuels: production, transportation, storage, handling and usage. This paper presents a review of recent literature related to the production of methanol and hydrogen as alternative replacement for fossil fuels through synthesis gas and biomass.