Methanol - Panacea to fuel woes

BANGALORE: On the occasion of National Science Day, Prof G K Surya Prakash of the Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, USA, delivered a talk on ‘Methanol as a Possible Alternative to Oil and Gas-Based Economies’ at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in the city on Tuesday.He held the audience comprising schoolchildren, IISc students and industry experts captive for over one hour with his explanations on how methanol could be the answer to the power and fuel woes of developing countries like India.“The Chinese have adopted the methanol economy lock, stock and barrel,” said Surya Prakash.“India is not far behind, but policies have to be altered to accommodate such a change,” he felt.“Ethanol involves the fermentation of starch which essentially means turning food into fuel. But methanol has no such issues as it is a single carbon solution. The production cost of one gallon methanol is only $1,” added Surya Prakash.Highlighting the advantages of methanol in internal combustion engines in his presentation, he said that methanol could be dispensed from regular gas stations with limited modifications and that it is safer than gasoline in case of a fire. “With an octane number of 100 and higher flame speed, the efficiency of the engine can be increased,” he observed.‘SIR M V JEEVANA SADHANE’ RELEASEDAs part of National Science Day celebrations, the Institution of Engineering released a book on Sir M Visvesvaraya in the presence of Padma Shri awardee Dr Y S Rajan.The book titled “Sir M Visvesvaraya Jeevana Sadhane” was released by Dr H Srinivasaiah, Federation of Indian Engineers (FIE) and president of Gandhi Bahavan, and Dr K Goplalakrishnan, chairman, the Institution of Engineers (India).Dr Wooday P Krishna, author of the book, said, “The book was written to encourage engineers and students in the state.The book will help the students in understanding difficult engineering jargon and in delivering world-class projects.” Dr Y S Rajan, Padma Shri awardee for Science & Technology, appreciated Dr Woday P Krishna’s efforts in bringing Sir M V’s work in Kannada.