Those features combine to make it burn more completely and cleanly, creating no soot. At 4.7 pounds per square inch, the vapor pressure of methanol is about half that of gasoline, so it evaporates much more slowly. That cuts another source of pollution, because cars leak unburned fuel from tanks and fuel lines. The Environmental Protection Agency has calculated that for every mile traveled, a gasoline-powered car releases about one gram of hydrocarbons through evaporating unburned fuel. They point out that a gallon of methanol has only half the energy content of a gallon of gasoline.
Methanol is more corrosive and more toxic than gasoline.
Because it is an alcohol, it penetrates the skin and is metabolized more swiftly than oil-derived gasoline. Drinking methanol or overdosing on its fumes has caused blindness. And, because it is water soluble, methanol spilled on the ground or in a waterway wouldn't have the tendency to float as do oil-based fuels. Cleaning up a spill could be a horrible problem. They also point out that changing fuels will cost a lot, in everything from duplicate distribution systems to redesigned vehicle engines.