Abstract
Turkey, like most of the developing countries of the world has vast agricultural potential, yet the country a highly dependent on oil imports, which satisfy 90% of its crude oil demand. Since Turkey has an economy based on agriculture, the usage of national resources in the energy field is extremely important. In the first yeas of the Turkish Republic, in 1931, the usage of national resources as an alternative to conventional fuels became a subject of increasing interest. Since then a lot of research has been conducted, but only a limited amount of application has been realized. Alcohol has always occupied an important place among the alternative fuel studies. The subject has been the scope of some research institute projects and university and government development planning studies. In Turkey, one of the most important studies in this area has been undertaken by our research group in our university. This study is a general review of alcohol usage as an alternative automotive fuel in Turkey. This review includes a short history of the subject, the approach of the government, the research results, possible developments on the subject in the near future, and finally, it concludes with our proposals.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 955-960 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Volume | 20 |
| No. | 10 |
| Specialist publication | Energy Sources |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1998 |
Funding
In 1979 0. Borat performed a series of engine tests using a 15% methanol-gasoline blend as part of a research project funded by the Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council. The 15% blend was tested on a four-cylinder, four-stroke SI engine for its performance at various loads, engine speeds, and throttle opening positions. Due to the encouraging results of the tests, Borat suggested that methanol produced from natural gas could be the alternative fuel for SI engines (Borat 1979). In the same year, the physical and chemical properties of ethanol-gasoline blends were investigated in Ege University, Izmir. Modification of the engine prior to the use of blend fuels, detailed engine tests, and the utilization of various additives to prevent phase separation of the blend fuel were suggested (Yagci and Durukan 1979). Turkey's first international publication regarding the use of alcohols as engine fuel was submitted to the Fourth ISAF symposium in 1980 by L. 0. Gulder (Giilder 1980a). This study was part of a project supported by the Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council (Giilder 1979). Results of this study were summarized as follows:
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council | |
| Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council |
Keywords
- Alternative engine fuel
- Biofuel, ethanol
- Blending agent for alcohol fuel
- Engine tests on alcohol fuel
- Methanol
- Turkey
