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In spite of the efforts of related industries, the air pollution situation particularly in urban areas of Japan is not satisfactory. It has been shown that air pollution is caused mainly by increased automotive traffic and increased penetration of diesel vehicles. Air-quality problems will become much more complicated and more severe in the future with increased emphasis on reducing air pollution and global warming. These situation will require continuous reduction of automobile emissions. In order to obtain cleaner exhaust emissions, cooperative studies between vehicle and fuel technologies are considered to be essential, and AQIRP in the United States and Auto/oil Program in Europe were already conducted to develop the best combination of measures for air pollution improvement. In 1996, Japan Clean Air Program (JCAP) was launched by Petroleum Energy Center (PEC) in cooperation with the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) and the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA).

This study describes the ignition of methanol spray formed by an ultrasonic atomizer under sub-zero conditions and the design of the methanol combustor as a H2+CO generator, based on partial oxidation reaction, for cold starting methanol engines. The methanol spray formed by the ultrasonic atomizer was observed to be ignited using a conventional ignition system even at sub-zero temperatures. Analysis of the spray characteristics showed that this successful ignition was attributed to the high amount of methanol vapor generated, which results from the fine spray and low momentum. The combustor using the ultrasonic atomizer was designed and tested. The combustor produced gaseous starting fuel (H2+CO) satisfactorily by using an adequate air register.