Environmentally friendly ternary transportation flex-fuel of gasoline, methanol and bioethanol

Abstract

An efficient and economic ternary flex-fuel mixture that includes at least 10% gasoline, at least 10% bioethanol and at least 45% methanol, with the amount of gasoline, bioethanol and methanol totaling 100%, wherein the flex-fuel mixture has an octane rating of at least 90 and remains homogeneous in the presence of up to 10% water therein. Preferred flex-fuel mixtures include 10-15 to 30% gasoline, 50 to 75-80% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol and having an octane rating of 90 to 98. Also, methods of making these flex-fuel mixtures and to improvements in methods for preparing a flex-fuel mixture of gasoline and bioethanol by adding methanol in an amount sufficient to enable the mixture to remain homogeneous in the presence of up to 10% water to thus allow handling, transportation, dispensing and use of the mixture in the same manner as conventional gasoline fuels.

1 . An efficient and environmentally friendly ternary transportation flex-fuel mixture comprising at least 10% gasoline, at least 10% bioethanol and at least 45% methanol, with the amount of gasoline, bioethanol and methanol totaling 100%, wherein the flex-fuel mixture has an octane rating of at least 90 and remains homogeneous in the presence of up to 10% water therein. 
   
   
       2 . The flex-fuel mixture of  claim 1  wherein the gasoline is present in an amount of less than 33% of the mixture and the methanol is present in an amount of at least 50% of the mixture. 
   
   
       3 . The flex-fuel mixture of  claim 1  wherein the bioethanol is present in an amount of less than 33% of the mixture and the methanol is present in an amount of at least 50% of the mixture. 
   
   
       4 . The flex-fuel mixture of  claim 1  wherein the methanol is present in an amount of less than 75% of the mixture. 
   
   
       5 . The flex-fuel mixture of  claim 1  comprising 10 to 30% gasoline, 50 to 80% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol and having an octane rating of 90 to 98. 
   
   
       6 . The flex-fuel mixture of  claim 1  comprising 15 to 30% gasoline, 50 to 75% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol and having an octane rating of 90 to 98. 
   
   
       7 . A method of making the flex-fuel mixture of  claim 1  which comprises mixing the gasoline, bioethanol and methanol together in the amounts recited and under mixing conditions sufficient to form a homogenous mixture. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the mixing is conducted by first mixing the gasoline with the methanol to form a binary mixture and subsequently adding the bioethanol. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the mixing is conducted by first mixing the methanol with bioethanol to form a binary mixture and subsequently adding the gasoline. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the methanol is made from carbon dioxide that is generated by an industrial plant to avoid emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere where it can contribute to further global warming. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the methanol is made from carbon dioxide that is removed from the atmosphere to reduce the contribution of the carbon dioxide to global warming. 
   
   
       12 . A method of storing, handling, transporting or dispensing a bioethanol containing fuel using existing infrastructure without the need to render and keep the fuel anhydrous which comprises formulating the fuel with at least 10% gasoline, at least 10% bioethanol and at least 45% methanol, with the amount of gasoline, bioethanol and methanol totaling 100%, wherein the flex-fuel mixture has an octane rating of at least 90 and remains homogeneous in the presence of up to 10% water therein. 
   
   
       13 . In a method for preparing a flex-fuel mixture of gasoline and bioethanol, the improvement which comprises adding methanol in an amount sufficient to enable the mixture to remain homogeneous in the presence of up to 10% water to thus allow handling, transportation, dispensing and use of the mixture in the same manner as conventional gasoline fuels without first having to treat the bioethanol to remove associated water or without having to be rendered anhydrous. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the flex-fuel mixture comprises at least 10% gasoline, at least 10% bioethanol and at least 45% methanol, with the amount of gasoline, bioethanol and methanol totaling 100%. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the flex-fuel mixture has an octane rating of at least 90. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the gasoline is present in an amount of less than 33% of the mixture and the methanol is present in an amount of at least 50% of the mixture. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the bioethanol is present in an amount of less than 33% of the mixture and the methanol is present in an amount of at least 50% of the mixture. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the methanol is present in an amount of less than 75% of the mixture. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the flex-fuel mixture comprises 10 to 30% gasoline, 50 to 80% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol and has an octane rating of 90 to 98. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the flex-fuel mixture comprises 15 to 30% gasoline, 50 to 75% methanol, and 10 to 25% of bioethanol and has an octane rating of 90 to 98.