Cold Starting Performance of Gasoline/Methanol M10 Blends in a Spark Ignition Engine

Engine cold starting tests have been conducted in a laboratory cold chamber to compare the performance of three 10% methanol/90% gasoline blends with that of Indolene. The blends had different Reid Vapour Pressures and tests were conducted over a wide range of fuel/air ratios at temperatures as low as –45°C. It was found that all M10 blends tested had poorer starting performance than Indolene at cold temperatures, including those of nominally higher volatility. Cold starting did not correlate to Reid Vapour Pressure even when comparing two oxygenated fuels. Graphs are presented showing minimum cold starting temperature as a function of fuel–air equivalence ratio.