Methanol, also known as
methyl alcohol,
carbinol,
wood alcohol,
wood naphtha or
wood spirits, is a
chemical compound with
chemical formula CH3OH (often abbreviated MeOH). It is the simplest
alcohol, and is a light,
volatile,
colourless,
flammable, toxic liquid with a distinctive odor that is somewhat milder and sweeter than
ethanol. At room temperature it is a
polar liquid and is used as an
antifreeze,
solvent,
fuel, and as a
denaturant for ethanol. It is also used for producing
biodiesel via
transesterification reaction.
Methanol is produced naturally in the
anaerobic metabolism of many varieties of bacteria, and is ubiquitous in the environment. As a result, there is a small fraction of methanol vapor in the atmosphere. Over the course of several days, atmospheric methanol is
oxidized by oxygen with the help of sunlight to carbon dioxide and water.
Methanol burns in air forming
carbon dioxide and
water:
:2 CH
3OH + 3 O
2 → 2 CO
2 + 4 H
2O
A methanol flame is almost colorless in bright sunlight conditions, causing an additional safety hazard around open methanol flames.
Because of its toxic properties, methanol is frequently used as a denaturant additive for ethanol manufactured for industrial uses— this addition of methanol economically exempts industrial ethanol from the rather significant 'liquor' taxes that would otherwise be levied as it is the essence of all potable alcoholic beverages. Methanol is often called wood alcohol because it was once produced chiefly as a byproduct of the destructive distillation of wood. It is now produced synthetically by a multi-step process:
natural gas or
coal gas and steam are reformed in a furnace to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide; then, hydrogen and carbon monoxide gases react under pressure in the presence of a catalyst. Methanol is also produced from the gasification of a range of renewable biomass materials, such as wood and black liquor from pulp and paper mills.
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